Despite the excitement among Las Vegas Raiders fans regarding the appointment of Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator, one media pundit expresses a contrasting opinion. Well, that’s putting it lightly when you consider what was said.
As most are fully aware, the final shoe to drop for the Silver and Black was indeed Kingsbury. Once Pierce had the interim tag removed, it was only a matter of time before the dominos fell. With Patrick Graham likely sticking around and Marvin Lewis officially hired as an assistant coach, Kingsbury’s assignment rounds out the upper hierarchy of the coaching staff. So, now what?
What do we make of the Raiders hiring Kliff Kingsbury?
Many Raiders fans are jubilant, especially when you consider how “vanilla” the offense looked under former head coach Josh McDaniels. While Bo Hardegree taking over after McDaniels was let go didn’t help matters, things could only go up after the fact. Still, Walter Football, a well-known outlet, lambasted Pierce for picking Kingsbury.
“Kingsbury was a failure as a head coach in Arizona. While he did many things wrong, one of his problems was his atrocious play-calling. Kingsbury was predictable or stupid, often calling for deep shots on third-and-medium, which fell incomplete way more often than not. Kyler Murray didn’t improve under Kingsbury’s watch, and while some of that was on Murray and his poor work ethic, it was Kingsbury who couldn’t get Murray to try hard. I don’t see why he would suddenly energize the next quarterback he coaches.”
For those not familiar with the Arizona Cardinals, Kingsbury’s reign was a mixed bag. His squad made a quick trip to the playoffs back in 2021. Still, to simply refer to Kingsbury as “stupid” is an oversimplification.
After taking time off from coaching, Kingsbury landed at USC, where he became familiar with a quarterback that many within Raider Nation are clamoring for.
“Kingsbury coached USC last year as an offensive assistant, and he didn’t show any signs of improvement in his coaching ability. Caleb Williams took a step backward in 2023 under Kingsbury, which was hardly a surprise.”
Some unwarranted criticism…
To be fair, Kingsbury isn’t coming to the Raiders to be the head coach. Kingsbury’s task is to finally utilize Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, and Josh Jacobs properly (assuming he comes back). On top of that, whether the team brings in a veteran such as Kirk Cousins or drafts a first-round quarterback, Kingsbury’s responsibility will be to properly develop him.
“I’m not sure what Pierce is thinking with his hire, but he clearly didn’t pay attention to how poor Kingsbury has been throughout his career. This is an easy “F” grade.”
Ouch, an F? What say you, Raider Nation?
