NFL Head Coach Fired From Team After Four Seasons

01/09/2023 04:34 pm EST

The 2022 NFL regular season has come to an end, and that means teams are looking for new head coaches. On Monday, the Arizona Cardinals announced they have fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury. The team also announced that general manager Steve Keim has decided to "step away from his position in order to focus on his health." This news comes 10 months after Kingsbury signed a contract extension through the 2027 season. 

The Cardinals had a disappointing 2022 season, finishing the year with a 4-13 record. On Sunday after the Cardinals lost to the San Francisco 49ers, Kingsbury shared his thoughts on his future. "As a coach you learn along the way," Kingsbury said, per the Cardinals' official website. "Each and every step I think there's things that I'll take from this and be a better coach moving forward. But you have to go through a season like this to try and make those changes moving forward."

Kingsbury, 43, was hired in January 2019, two months after he was fired as the head coach of Texas Tech. His best season was in 2021 when the Cardinals posted an 11-6 record and reached the playoffs. But that was the only winning season for Arizona during Kingsbury's tenure and they never found any consistency, leading to the Cardinals making the change. 

When Kingsbury was hired as the head coach of the Cardinals, he said: "I've been around football my entire life. "I've played in this league, coached on the college level, and have always been fascinated by the NFL. With the offensive trends these days, it felt like a perfect time to be here."

Kingsbury began his head coaching career at Texas Tech in 2013. In his six seasons with the Red Raiders, Kingsbury posted a 35-40 record and led the team to three bowl games. He worked with several notable quarterbacks at Texas Tech, including Baker Mayfield, Johnny Manziel and Patrick Mahomes. Before joining Texas Tech, Kingsbury was an assistant coach at the University of Houston and Texas A&M. 

"I think you see where it's been, where it's going, you have a young quarterback, lots of salary cap space and a team that will continue to fight through the season," Kingsbury said when he was hired as the Cardinals head coach. "I'm really honored to be here and excited to be here."  

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