Kliff Kingsbury

At 44 years old, Kliff Kingsbury has this physical status:

Playing career

Kingsbury was born in San Antonio, Texas, to Tim and Sally (née Moeller) Kingsbury. Kingsbury High School (Texas), where his father, Tim, was head coach, played high school football at New Braunfels High School (Texas). In addition, Kingsbury was a member of the baseball, basketball, and track squads. While leading the team to the Class 5A Division II semifinals and a 13-2-2 record, John threw for 3,009 yards and 34 touchdowns. In the Texas High School Coaches All-Star Game, he was named offensive MVP. Kingsbury placed 3rd in his class of 450, and was an Academic All-State pick. Kingsbury was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in May 2018.

Spike Dykes played quarterback for the Texas Tech Red Raiders from 1998–1999. Mike Leach from 2000–2002 played quarterback for the Texas Tech Red Raiders from 1998–2002. During his career, Kingsbury played 43 games at Texas Tech, totaling 1,229 of 1,881 passes for 12,423 yards with 95 touchdowns and 40 interceptions. Kingsbury has set 39 school records, 13 Big 12 Conference records, and 7 NCAA FBS records during his time as a student.

Kingsbury appeared in six games, beginning with a game against Oklahoma in 1999, his redshirt freshman year. In his first collegiate season, he completed 25 of 57 passes for 492 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. He took over the starting role in 2000, throwing 362 of 585 passes for 3,418 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. He had two scores on 78 attempts. With a final score of 40-27, his season came to an end. Kingsbury was a first-team selection and second-team pick by the league's coaches for his 2001 debut as a junior and second-team pick. He completed 328 of 528 passes for 3,502 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions.

Kingsbury's averaged 350.2 yards per game in 2002, a new record for the first time since the 2001 season, with 5017 yards and his 45 touchdown passes almost doubled his record set. In comparison to a 55-15 routing of the Clemson Tigers in the Tangerine Bowl, Kingsbury led Texas Tech to a 9-five record as a senior, defeating Big 12 Conference rivals Texas, Texas A&M, and Baylor.

Following the 2002 season, he was honoured the Sammy Baugh Award, which is annually given to the nation's best college passer. He was also voted the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year by a joint All-Big 12 Conference first-team pick and finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting. These awards came following a season in which he set new school single-season records by defeating 479 of 712 passes (67.3 percent) for 5,017 yards, 45 touchdowns, and just 13 interceptions. On 102 carries, he also scored two rushing touchdowns.

He and Graham Harrell are the only Texas Tech quarterbacks to have defeated both the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns as starters throughout their careers. In his three years as a starter, Kingsbury led Tech to three bowl games, his highest ranking ever. He set the NCAA records for career plays, career plays per game, single season and career passing attempts, single season and career playing completions, lowest single game completion percentage, and highest percentage of passes intercepted, with the majority of single season and career games gaining 200 yards or more in 2003.

Kingsbury was the third player in college football history to throw for over 10,000 yards, gain over 10,000 yards in total offense, and complete over 1,000 passes in a career. He was also the fourth player in college football to throw for over 3,000 yards three times during his career. Following his sophomore campaign in 2000, Kingsbury became a member of the Academic All-Big 12 Conference.

The New England Patriots selected Kingsbury from the 201st overall pick (6th round) of the 2003 NFL Draft. He did not play in his rookie season in 2003, but he missed the year on the Patriots' injured reserve due to an arm injury. He did get a Super Bowl ring, but not this one. He was waived by the Patriots on September 6, 2004.

He was signed by the New Orleans Saints to the team's practice squad, where he spent the entire 2004 season. He went to practice camp with the Saints this season and completed 10-of-21 passes for 139 yards with a long of 57 yards and two interceptions.

He was admitted to the Denver Broncos' practice squad on September 6, 2005, and was released on September 21, 2005.

On September 28, 2005, he signed with the New York Jets. On November 20, 2005, Kingsbury made his NFL debut against the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter. He made one-of-two passes for 17 yards.

In 2006, the Buffalo Bills signed Kingsbury and spent time with the Bills, but he was suspended before the regular season.

In 2006, the New York Jets assigned Kingsbury to the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe. While completing 58 of 102 passes for 633 yards and two touchdowns, he had the highest quarterback rating of any Cologne quarterback (73.7%). He also led Cologne with a 59% completion rate.

The Montréal Alouettes announced Kingsbury on March 30, 2007. He spent time in Montréal during training camp before being traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 20 in exchange for quarterback Brad Banks. He was the third-string quarterback for the 2007 Blue Bombers season, behind Kevin Glenn and Ryan Dinwiddie.

Coaching career

Kingsbury joined the University of Houston football staff in August 2008 as a quality control officer. Kingsbury was attracted to Houston by his friendship with Dana Holgorsen, who had been the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech before moving to Houston. Kingsbury was praised for the 2009 Houston offense, with Case Keenum at the helm. Keenum finished his career in Houston with multiple NCAA Division I passing records. With Holgorsen's departure to become the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State University, Kingsbury was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Cougars, alongside former UH receiver Jason Phillips. After Houston led college football, Kingsbury quickly earned Coach Kevin Sumlin's respect and started calling all the offensive plays, earning the title as the 2011 Offensive Coordinator of the year.

Kingsbury recruited Kevin Sumlin, a former Houston head coach, to be the offensive coordinator for Texas A&M during the 2012 season, coaching Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel, after a record-breaking 2011 season in which Houston led the NCAA in yards, points, and virtually every offensive category. The Aggies dominated the Southeastern Conference in rush, passing, total, and scoring offense, and they were the country's only offensive team ranked in the top 15 of all four categories. Kingsbury was named the 2012 Footballscoop.com Offensive Coordinator of the Year for his efforts, and he was voted a finalist for the Broyles Award.

Following the unexpected departure of coach Tommy Tuberville from Cincinnati ahead of the 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, Kingsbury returned to his alma mater on December 12, 2012. Kirby Hocutt, a Texas tech athletic director, announced the appointment with a video shared from his Twitter account. "Wereck em, Tech," the narrator said of Kingsbury, who flashed the Guns Up sign and said, "Wereck 'em, Tech." Kingsbury's five-year base salary as well as creative control over the team's uniforms.

Kingsbury was the second-youngest head coach of a squad in an AQ tournament and the third-newest head coach in college football at 33 years old. Only Matt Campbell of Toledo and P. J. Fleck of Western Michigan were younger.

Kingsbury made his head coaching debut against the SMU Mustangs on August 30, 2013. Baker Mayfield, a walk-on true freshman quarterback for the starting role at the club, was dubbed Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Mayfield is expected to be the first walk-on true freshman to start a season opener for a BCS school.

Davis Webb, another true freshman quarterback, was recalled later in the Kansas game after suffering a knee injury. Webb was also named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after his first appearance against Iowa State. Texas Tech was the first school in the Big 12 Conference to have three different freshman quarterbacks win the award, with the first being Kingsbury himself in 1999.

Following a victory over TCU on September 12, 2013, the Red Raiders made their Associated Press Top 25 debut in the Kingsbury period. It was the first time a Texas Tech first-year coach made the top 10 lists. After the Red Raiders defeated Iowa State on October 12, 2013, Kingsbury became the first coach in Texas Tech history to start the season 6–0 in their debut season. For the fourth time in program history, Kingsbury led the Red Raiders to a 7–0 start after defeating West Virginia on October 19, 2013. The team's 10th-place ranking in the BCS also ranked the highest level since the 2008 season. Kingsbury became the first Big 12 coach to start his career 7-0 after winning over West Virginia. The Texas Tech Red Raiders won the first five games of the season in Kliff Kingsbury's first year as a coach, finishing the rookie coach's first regular season at 7–5. Jace Amaro was also named a Consensus All-American, the first Red Raider to be selected as such after Michael Crabtree in 2008.

Following an impressive showing by quarterback Davis Webb, Kingsbury and the Red Raiders capped off the season with a 37-23 win over #14 ranked Arizona State in the 2013 Holiday Bowl. In the 2014 NFL Draft, two of Kingsbury's players, Amaro and Will Smith, will be selected. Baker Mayfield and the state were relocated to Oklahoma following the season. In the 2018 NFL Draft, Heisman claimed the 2017 Heisman Trophy and was ranked 1st overall.

Kingsbury's salary was raised to $3.5 million and a contract extension until 2020 on August 29, 2014. According to the report, Kingsbury's salary would rise by $200,000 a year to a maximum of $5.5 million in 2020. Following an announcement for a $185 million athletic fundraising effort, the extension was granted. Texas Tech sold out 2014 season tickets for the first time since Kingsbury's inaugural 1925 season. The 2014 team suffered with multiple injuries, finishing 4-8 on the season.

Several improvements were made by the Red Raiders in the 2015 season. Kingsbury recruited defensive coordinator David Gibbs in the hopes of improving a defense that was ranked among the nation's worst. The Red Raiders returned from a strong season as running back DeAndré Washington led 1,492 yards and 16 touchdowns and Patrick Mahomes finished with 4,653 yards and 36 passing touchdowns. Although the offense rebounded well and finished the season in the top ten nationally, the defense finished 2nd, only better than Kansas. With wins at Arkansas and Texas, the Kingsbury continued his 3rd season, showing promise going into 2016. The 2015 season, which culminated in a 7–6, 4–5 finish in Big 12 play, with a 5th-place finish. Tech lost in the Texas Bowl to LSU. In the 2016 NFL Draft, three of Kingsbury's players were chosen: Le'Raven Clark, DeAndré Washington, and Jakeem Grant.

In Big 12 action, the Red Raiders defeated 5–7, 3–6. With conference wins over Kansas, TCU, and Baylor, the team was dissatisfied, finishing eighth in the Big 12. With a 55–34 victory over Baylor, the Red Raiders closed the 2016 season. This victory brought an eight-game losing streak against the Bears dating back to Kingsbury's days in Lubbock long before he was the Red Raider's head coach. The 2016 squad had the sixth best offense and the worst defense in Division I FBS. After a disappointing campaign to the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round #10 overall, Patrick Mahomes was the lone Red Raider drafted.

In 2017, the Red Raiders made or break season for Kingsbury. The team responded with a positive finish to the 2017 season, which ended 6–7, 3–6 in Big 12 play. The offense showed signs of improvement after finishing ranked #16 in the country after losing first round pick Patrick Mahomes. The defense also showed signs of improvement, rising to #58 overall, a major improvement over a defense that was the worst in the NCAA the previous season. Kingsbury will be back for his 6th season as the Red Raiders coach at the end of the season.

With the Red Raiders beating Houston and Oklahoma State on their way to a 5–2 record, the 2018 season got off to a promising start. Texas Tech then played in 5–7 until the season's last five games ended. The fate for Kingsbury has been sealed for three seasons in a row, as well as six consecutive losing seasons. Kingsbury will not be retained for the 2019 season, according to athletic director Kirby Hocutt. In Big 12 play, he finished with a record of 35–40 (including 13 victories over lower-tier Groups of Five and FCS competition) and 19–35.

Since Kingsbury became an offensive coordinator in 2011, his offenses have averaged 550 yards and nearly 42 points per game.

In December 2018, Kingsbury was hired by USC as their new offensive coordinator. Kingsbury was one of the first candidates to interview for the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals head coaching positions in January 2019. Since he had already signed the contractual agreement, USC athletic director Lynn Swann denied calls from NFL teams to interview Kingsbury. Kingsbury resigned from the position one month after being USC's offensive coordinator, resulting in decommittals from his recruits. Graham Harrell, a fellow Texas Tech Red Raiders QB, will replace Kingsbury.

Kingsbury travelled to Arizona and spoke with the Arizona Cardinals after a New York Jets interview. Kingsbury took over as the Arizona Cardinals' head coach on January 8, 2019. Kinsbury's selection was attributed to the "Sean McVay Effect" by some.

On August 8, 2019, Kingsbury won his first preseason game 17-13 against the Los Angeles Chargers. However, the Cardinals got off to a slow start on the season by going 0-3-1. Kingsbury defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in their first regular-season game on October 6, 2019, by a score of 26–23. In the NFC West, Kingsbury led the Cardinals to a 5–10-1 record and ended 4th.

Kingsbury led the Cardinals to win their first game of the 2020 NFL season by defeating the San Francisco 49ers, defending NFC champions, by a score of 24-20, the Cardinals' first victory of the season. It was the first time the Cardinals had won a Week 1 game since 2015. It was also his 6th victory of his NFL head coaching career, giving Kingsbury's their 6th victory of his career. The Kingsbury Cardinals defeated the undefeated Seattle Seahawks by 37–34 in overtime to move to 5–2 on the season. Despite losing their next game to the Miami Dolphins after Week 8 bye, the team bounced back from a Week 8 bye. The Hail Murray triumph over the Buffalo Bills boosted to 6–3 on the season. The Cardinals will eventually fall apart after going 2–5 over their final seven games and ending with an 8-8 record, good for 3rd in the NFC West, but not strong enough for a playoff berth because they lost out on the NFC's last playoff spot due to a tiebreaker to the Chicago Bears.

Kingsbury led the Cardinals to their first away game of the 2021 NFL season by defeating the Tennessee Titans 38-13. The following game, played at home against the Minnesota Vikings on September 19, 2021, was a win for the Cardinals despite a late game field goal by the Vikings that had a 2021 win. This is the seventh time the Arizona Cardinals have started a season as a result of a season 3–0, and only the fourth time a coach has led the team to consecutive 2–0 starts. Kingsbury and several others on the Cardinals' coaching staff tested positive for COVID-19 on October 15, 2021, effectively ending their eligibility to coach the Cleveland Browns' Week 6 match against the Cleveland Browns. Jeff Rodgers, the Cardinals' defensive coordinator, and special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers took over head coaching duties for the game, leading the Cardinals to a 37-14 victory. The team finished second in the NFC West with an 11-6 regular season record, defeating the Rams 11-34 in the first round of the playoffs.

Kingsbury also agreed to a six-year contract until 2027 on March 2, 2022.

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