Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury interested in head coaching again ‘at some point’ Jan 02, 2025
The Chicago Bears are searching for a new head coach. Caleb Williams, the team’s talented No. 1 pick quarterback, just so happens to have played for a former NFL head coach whose stock might be on the rise again.
Might there be a match?
Kliff Kingsbury has seen the ups and downs of the coaching profession over the years, but he’s currently experiencing a big upswing as the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator in the franchise’s best season in years. He was head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and spent six years in the same role at Texas Tech before that.
Kingsbury said Thursday he’d like to be a head coach again — when the timing is right.
“At some point,” Kingsbury said. “We’ll see how everything plays out, but I’m very happy here.”
The Commanders have clinched a playoff spot, and Kingsbury has had a major footprint on their success. Jayden Daniels has been Kingsbury’s charge since Washington selected him second overall — one pick after Williams — and has helped bring out the best in the rookie.
The offense ranks in the top five in yards and points, and Daniels is the prohibitive favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Commanders sit at 11-5 heading into their final regular-season game at Dallas, and awaiting their playoff assignment after Week 18 unfolds.
If the Bears or any other team wants to interview Kingsbury for a coaching position, they must wait until three days after the Commanders’ wild-card game to do so. Kingsbury declined to say if he planned to interview with teams at that point.
“This has been an awesome place,” Kingsbury said, “and has really helped me rekindle my love for the sport.”
The Bears actually spoke to Kingsbury one year ago for their vacant offensive coordinator position. He’d spent the 2023 season as an offensive analyst with USC, coaching Williams there under head coach Lincoln Riley.
Instead, the Bears hired Shane Waldron for the OC job. Waldron was fired after only nine games, and Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was let go only a few weeks later.
Williams has had a confounding rookie season, showing immense promise at times and struggling at others. He had an interception-less streak of 353 passes and currently sits fifth on the Bears’ single-season passing list with 3,393 yards. But Williams also leads the NFL in sacks taken (67) and sack-yardage lost (459), with the Bears having lost 10 straight games heading into the Week 18 finale at Green Bay.
Williams spoke Wednesday about what he values most in a head coach and a play-caller.
“A coach that challenges me — whether it’s offensive coordinator or head coach. Challenges me and also challenges us as players,” Williams said, via team transcript. “Whether it’s on the field, character — it doesn’t matter — just a coach that challenges us. A man of his word. A discipline coach — meaning his rules or whatever he’s going to bring rule-wise, how he’s going to control and manage the team.
“Another one would be just a guy who wants to win. Find ways, helping us players, helping coaches, whatever the case is, to pull out wins throughout the season. Whether it’s a tough win or we blow somebody out. Just helping us and finding ways to win.”
Williams was also asked about his connection to Kingsbury and whether he and those traits Williams is seeking overlap. The rookie QB appeared to want to praise Kingsbury while being careful not to go overboard while talking about another NFL team’s coach.
“I have been around Kliff, I know what type of guy he is,” Williams said. “I know he loves football. He wants to win, he’s a competitor in many different aspects I was just speaking about.
“… I would say being around him, knowing him, asking him questions — obviously, if he was here I would probably have more to say. I think he fits a bunch of those qualities I said.”
Kingsbury’s work with Williams and prior head-coaching experience make him a fascinating potential candidate in Chicago. He had only one playoff appearance in four seasons with the Cardinals, with a record of 28-37-1 (.432). But Kingsbury said he’s learned from Commanders head coach Dan Quinn — presumably one of the NFL’s Coach of the Year frontrunners, too — and has realized where he might have misstepped during his time in Arizona.
“I don’t think I set the foundation the way I would do it after watching DQ and how he set the foundation (in Washington) from Day One,” Kingsbury said. “These are the standards, this is what we want, this is what we’re going to be.
“I definitely could have done a better job of that, and kind of once you don’t lay it out like that, it’s hard to put it back in.”
