Kliff Kingsbury Mad, Says Madden Persona Looks Like ‘Walking Dead’ Character

Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury is not happy with his avatar in Madden NFL 20. In fact, the digital version is more akin to a zombie than a real person in his opinion.

Tuesday morning, the first-year coach was asked for his opinion on the new-look offense being listed lower than the defense in the ratings. Patrick Peterson and co. are listed 80 overall while Kyler Murray and his skill position players are only 73 overall. Well, Kingsbury was upset, but he was more focused the way he was portrayed in the game than he was on the actual ratings.

“It’s funny you bring that up because I had seen a bunch of guys kind of getting in their feelings about their rating,” Kingsbury said, according to the Cardinals website. “And then someone sent me a picture of what I look like on there, so I want to get adjusted on ‘looks’ rating. I look like I’m on ‘The Walking Dead’ in that picture.

“So yeah, I apologize for any of those players that I thought, ‘Hey it’s just a video game, why are you upset?’ Because I saw my picture on there, and I’m not pleased with where we’re at. We have to work on that.”

With “Madden NFL 20” releasing on Friday, outrage is in the air over the various aspects of this annual video game. Rookies entering their first season in the league are upset that their grades aren’t high enough in strength, awareness, or any of the myriad categories that make up the player rating. Kingsbury will now be joining that list of those upset with EA Sports and holding out hope for a downloadable patch that will make everything better.

At only 39 years of age, Kingsbury is one of the younger coaches in the league, and he is also viewed as one of the most handsome. It’s understandable that he would be upset seeing a freakish version of himself making a trade or calling plays from the sideline.

That being said, these caricatures of players and coaches are nothing new in the history of “Madden.” In fact, wide receiver Tyrell Williams of the Oakland Raiders even posted the digital version of himself on Twitter, and the likeness was not even close.

While Kingsbury has a right to be upset about his likeness in Madden 20, he should be grateful that there was an attempt made to capture his visage. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick hasn’t been shown in the series. In his place is a bespectacled figure known as “Griffin Murphy.”

The digital version of Kingsbury may not be a looker, but at least he is in the game. The small victories are the ones that count in this world.