The Washington Commanders have named their new offensive and defensive coordinators and one of the names has shocked a lot of pundits.
All hail the return of former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury into the role of Commanders offensive coordinator. Joining him as defensive coordinator will be Joe Whitt Jr.
Kingsbury’s is the hire that has been most questioned. Replacing outgoing Eric Bieniemy, Kingsbury was sacked from the Cardinals after his Air Raid offense collapsed at the end of the 2022 season. In fact Kingsbury’s offense collapsed in all four of his seasons in Arizona.
The key for an improved showing for Kingsbury with the Commanders will be the willingness to adopt more varied personnel sets so that defences can’t quite so easily know what’s coming.
Commanders have a plan
The advantage that Kingsbury brings is his ability to develop young QB’s with the Commanders having the number 2 pick in this years NFL draft. He has previously worked with Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield.
It is expected that pick will be Drake Maye, unless Washington can somehow convince the Bears to swap picks so they can select USC QB Caleb Williams.
Lost in the kerfuffle of Kingsbury’s appointment was the exciting appointment of defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr who has spent the last 3 years as defensive pass game coordinator/secondary coach with the Cowboys.
Whitt Jr was expected to be offered the Cowboys job soon but has cancelled that interview to accept the Commanders job.
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