Kliff Kingsbury dismissed as Arizona Cardinals head coach after four seasons in charge; Cardinals missed out on NFL playoffs after a 4-13 season and closed out 2022 campaign with seven straight defeats; Kingsbury sacked a year after signing a contract extension that ran to 2027
Monday 9 January 2023 19:07, UK
The Arizona Cardinals have fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury after four seasons in charge, the team confirmed on Monday.
Arizona failed to reach the playoffs this season having finished 4-13 following seven straight defeats to close out the 2022 campaign.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport added that Cardinals general manager Steve Keim is stepping away from his role to focus on his health.
Kingsbury's dismissal marks the second head coach firing in the wake of Sunday's regular season finales after Lovie Smith was relieved of his duties with the Houston Texans following just one year at the helm.
The departure of Kingsbury comes just a year after he signed an extension keeping him under contract through the 2027 campaign.
His new deal had arrived as reward for snapping the franchise's five-season playoff absence having guided the team to 7-0 and 10-2 records at various stages during the campaign.
The Cardinals had lost four of their final five regular season games before eventually suffering a comprehensive defeat to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round.
Kingsbury compiled a 28-37-1 record across his four years in the post on the back of six seasons with college program Texas Tech.
His offense ranked 18th in passing, 22nd in rushing, 21st in scoring and 22nd in total offense this season, while having ranked 30th in DVOA and 28th in EPA/play.
A turbulent season saw star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins suspended for six games before quarterback Kyler Murray later suffered a season-ending knee injury in December, by which point the campaign had long-been lost.
What was supposed to be a blossoming relationship between Kingsbury and Murray was instead clouded by offseason tension, namely a spotlight-drawing clause inserted in the latter's new contract mandating independent study time.
