In Week 4, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury visits his former stomping grounds to take on an Arizona Cardinals club he coached for four seasons.
Kingsbury compiled a 28-37-1 record from 2019-2022, making the postseason in 2021 with the Cards. Despite how things ended, Kingsbury said Thursday he harbors no ill will toward Arizona.
"Not at all. I mean, that's why I still got my house here, man," he said. "I love it out here. So, I will always be grateful to (Cardinals owner) Michael (Bidwill) for giving me that opportunity that he did. First fired college coach to ever get that opportunity. And then the guys in that building, some of my closest friends and then the team, you watch those guys play -- James Conner, Budda (Baker), they still inspire me. So, nothing but positive memories."
Despite his mediocre college record, the Cards hired Kingsbury in 2019 to tutor then-rookie Kyler Murray. Under the former coach, the QB earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and made two Pro Bowls. It's been an up-and-down ride for Murray, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Kingsbury's final season. The QB has shown early this season the knee injury of 2022 is in the past.
"Yeah, it's been fun to watch him," Kingsbury said of Murray. "The end of last year, I thought you could see the confidence getting back in the knee and he made a bunch of big plays, played really well, and he is played great this season. They're a couple plays away from being undefeated, so you see the speed, the quickness, the competitive nature is there. So, it's been, it's been great to see. He's a guy I basically banked my entire career on what he would be and I still believe in it, and it's cool to see him playing as well as he is."
After spending a year on the University of Southern California staff, Kingsbury jumped back to the pros. His offense in D.C., with rookie Jayden Daniels at the helm, has been sensational so far. The Commanders haven't punted in consecutive games.
Kingsbury said during his time away, he sought out other coaches to evolve his play-calling.
"Yeah, I studied a bunch of NFL film; I talked to Todd Monken, before I got back into it, with the Ravens. I liked what he transitioned from Georgia to there," he said. "And then just really being around (USC coach) Lincoln (Riley) and studying his offense and just tried to figure out, 'Hey, if I'm going to do this again, how can we take the next step and be better moving forward?' And had a lot of time on my hands and was able to hopefully evolve a little bit."
Sunday's bout in Arizona will pit two of Kingsbury's talented pupils.
It marks the first NFL game since at least 1950 (as far back as QB start data exists) between opposing starting QBs who each have a 100-plus passer rating and have averaged 50-plus rush YPG that season entering the matchup, per NFL Research. Daniels boasts a 111.8 passer rating (4th) and 57.0 rush YPG (2nd among QBs), while Murray enters with a 104.6 passer rating (8th) and 53.7 rush YPG (3rd among QBs).
