Cardinals Have Researched Coaching Candidates But No Decision Yet On HC Kliff Kingsbury

According to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill has done his homework on some potential coaching candidates in preparation for a potential vacancy this offseason. 

However, they add Bidwill does not yet appear to have made a decision one way or another about current HC Kliff Kingsbury.

Arizona could also be looking at a new GM search with current GM Steve Keim on a health-related leave of absence, and Rapoport and Pelissero note that could be a lot of change for Bidwill to sign off on for one offseason. 

Specifically, they point out the question Bidwill willl be asking himself is whether it’s worth paying out the remainder of Kingsbury’s contract, which was just re-upped this past January, and hiring a new coach if it’s not an obvious upgrade. 

Among the candidates Arizona is considering are former Saints HC Sean Payton — who has also looked into how appealing the Cardinals job would be from his end and wouldn’t come cheap, both in terms of draft picks in a trade and coaching salary — as well as current DC Vance Joseph.

Kingsbury, 43, was hired as the Texas Tech head coach back in 2013 and spent six years in the position before he was fired. USC hired him as their offensive coordinator but he resigned from the job after just a month after receiving interest from the NFL. He was subsequently hired by the Cardinals. 

During his six seasons at Texas Tech, Kingsbury led them to a record of 35-40 (46.7 percent), which included three bowl game appearances.

For his NFL head coaching career, Kingsbury has led the Cardinals to an overall record of 26-32-1 in four seasons with one playoff appearance.

We’ll have more on Kingsbury and the Cardinals as the news is available.