Raiders Hire Kliff Kingsbury to Become Newest Offensive Coordinator
Following the hiring of Antonio Pierce earlier this month as the newest Las Vegas Raiders head coach, Pierce, and the Raiders have been on the search for their next offensive coordinator. Now, that wait is over, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday evening that the Raiders are expected to hire former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as their newest OC. The hiring of Kingsbury comes after the Raiders saw themselves find a rhythm and identity towards the end of the 2023-24 season, as they went 5-4 with Pierce under the helm to conclude the season after the in-season firing of former head coach Josh McDaniels. Now, Pierce and Kingsbury will look to build long-term success in the city of Vegas.
Despite his departure from the Cardinals, Kingsbury has been seen for a while as one of the top offensive minds in the NFL. The newest Raiders OC got his career started in 2008, as he became co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Houston. In 2012, Kingsbury moved on to Texas A&M, where he served as the Aggies’ OC and quarterbacks coach. Kingsbury was a part of the Johnny Manziel mania in 2012, as the Aggies finished the season with 11 wins and scoring nearly 45 points per game. The tenure with Texas A&M led to Kingsbury landing the head coaching position at Texas Tech in 2013, where he spent sixth seasons with the Red Raiders and had a 35-40 record. The Red Raiders didn’t have any problem scoring under Kingsbury, as the team ranked second in 2015 and fifth in 2016 in points per game, with eventual Chiefs' star quarterback Patrick Mahomes under center for those two seasons.
Kingsbury, 44, is coming back into the NFL coaching world after taking the 2023-24 season off amid his departure from the Cardinals. As the head coach in Arizona, the Cardinals went 28-37-1 under Kingsbury’s four-year stint with the team. The apex of Kingsbury’s tenure with the Cardinals came in the 2021-22 season, as the team went 11-6 and were eliminated by the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card round. The newest hiring by the Raiders provides Kingsbury the opportunity to improve upon a lackluster Raiders’ offense that had its struggles scoring consistently last season. The Raiders ranked 23rd last season in points per game and finished the season managing to score 20 or more points in just four games. In Kingsbury’s tenure with Arizona, the Cardinals ranked 16th, 13th, 11th and 21st in scoring. It will now be up to Kingsbury to figure out a scheme that can unlock the key to success within the Raiders’ offense for years to come.
