Kliff Kingsbury, hired by the Arizona Cardinals as their head coach after four seasons a year ago, could find himself back in the NFL soon.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Kingsbury is expected to interview for the Chicago Bears’ vacant offensive coordinator position. The Bears fired OC Luke Getsy after the season.
Kingsbury currently is a senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach at USC.
The possibility of Kingsbury landing the OC job with the Bears has a number of points of intrigue for the Cardinals.
- Kingsbury’s contract with the Cardinals runs another four seasons and, while it is believed that his contract requires him to actively seek an NFL job, if he does land other employment in the league, the salary he makes is offset instead of added. So if he is scheduled to make $7.5 million from the Cardinals and he gets paid $1 million as a coordinator in the league, the Cardinals only need to pay him $6.5 million.
- The Bears have the No. 1 pick in the draft. Kingsbury coached USC QB Caleb Williams, largely believed to be the No. 1 quarterback in this draft class. Whoever ultimately drafts first overall will likely select Williams. If the Bears hire Kingsbury to be their offensive coordinator, it could signal their plan to draft Williams and move on from Justin Fields.
- If the Bears select Williams first overall, because the Commanders and Patriots, who have the second and third overall picks, likely are also picking quarterbacks, the Cardinals should be able to land Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth overall pick.
- The Cardinals play the Bears in 2024 at home. If they hire Kingsbury, it would bring him back to Arizona for a game.
So should Cardinals fans care whether Kingsbury gets that job? Absolutely.
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