.jpg) Kingsbury with theWashington Commanders in 2024 | |||||||||
| Los Angeles Rams | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Senior offensive assistant | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1979-08-09)August 9, 1979 (age 46) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | New Braunfels(New Braunfels, Texas) | ||||||||
| College | Texas Tech (1998–2002) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2003: 6th round, 201st overall pick | ||||||||
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Head coaching record | |||||||||
| Regular season | 28–37–1 (.432) | ||||||||
| Postseason | 0–1 (.000) | ||||||||
| Career | NFL: 28–38–1 (.425) NCAA: 35–40 (.467) | ||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||
Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American professionalfootball coach and formerquarterback. Kingsbury playedcollege football for theTexas Tech Red Raiders, finishing in the top three in several school passing records before being selected in the sixth round of the2003 NFL draft by theNew England Patriots. He was a member of several other NFL andCFL teams before entering coaching in 2008.
Kingsbury was the offensive coordinator of the2011 Houston Cougars that led the NCAA in nearly all offensive statistics that season, averaging 50 points and nearly 600 yards per game. He was later thehead coach of Texas Tech (2013–2018) and the NFL'sArizona Cardinals (2019–2022). Kingsbury has been cited for his work in developing quarterbacksCase Keenum,Johnny Manziel,Baker Mayfield,Patrick Mahomes,Kyler Murray,Caleb Williams, andJayden Daniels.
Kingsbury was born on August 9, 1979, inSan Antonio, Texas.[1] Kingsbury played football atNew Braunfels High School, where his father was head coach.[2] Kingsbury also was a member of the baseball, basketball, and track teams.[3] As a quarterback at New Braunfels, Kingsbury threw for 3,009 yards and 34 touchdowns while leading the team to the Class 5A Division II semifinals and a 13–2 record.[2] He was named the offensive MVP in the Texas High School Coaches All-Star Game.[4] Kingsbury graduated 3rd in his class of 450, and was an Academic All-State selection.[5] Kingsbury was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 2018.[2]
Kingsbury played 43 games atquarterback for theTexas Tech Red Raiders from 1998 to 2002, completing 1,229 of 1,881 passes for 12,423 yards with 95touchdowns and 40 interceptions. Kingsbury set 39 school records, 13Big 12 Conference records, and 7NCAA FBS records.
In hisredshirt freshman year in 1999, Kingsbury appeared in six games, starting the season finale against Oklahoma. He completed 25 of 57 passes for 492 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in his initial collegiate season.[6] In 2000, he assumed the starting role and connected on 362 of 585 passes for 3,418 yards, 21 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He added two scores on 78 carries. His season ended with a loss to theEast Carolina Pirates in theGalleryfurniture.com Bowl, with a final score of 40–27. As a junior in 2001, Kingsbury was an All-District first-team selection and All-Big 12 Conference second-team pick by the league's coaches for his performance. He completed 365 of 528 passes for 3,502 yards, 25 touchdowns and only nine interceptions.
In 2002, Kingsbury averaged 350.2 yards per game, leading the nation with 5,017 passing yards and his 45 passing touchdowns,[7] which nearly doubled his mark set during the2001 season. As a senior, Kingsbury led Texas Tech to a 9–5 record, defeating Big 12 Conference rivalsTexas,Texas A&M andBaylor, in addition to a 55-15 routing of theClemson Tigers in theTangerine Bowl.
Following the 2002 season, he was awarded theSammy Baugh Trophy, annually presented to the nation's best college passer. He was additionally selected as a Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-American and Player of the Year, a unanimous All-Big 12 Conference first-team selection, was named theAssociated Press Offensive Player of the Year, and finished 9th inHeisman Trophy voting.[8] These awards followed a season during which he shattered his own school single-season records by completing 479 of 712 passes (67.3 percent) for 5,017 yards, 45 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions. He also added two rushing scores on 102 carries.[6]
He, along withGraham Harrell, are the only Texas Tech quarterbacks to have beaten both theOklahoma Sooners andTexas Longhorns during their careers as starters. Kingsbury led Tech to 3bowl games in his 3 years as a starter, with a 24–16 overall record. In 2003, he held the NCAA records for career plays, career plays per game, single season and career passing attempts, single season and career passing completions, highest single game completion percentage, career lowest percentage of passes intercepted, and most single season and career games gaining 200 yards or more.[9]
Kingsbury was only 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 also became just the fourth player in college football to throw for over 3,000 yards three times during his career.[6] Kingsbury was also an Academic All-Big 12 Conference choice following his sophomore campaign in 2000.
| Season | GP | Passing | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | ||
| 1999 | 6 | 25 | 57 | 43.9 | 492 | 8.6 | 4 | 1 | 136 |
| 2000 | 12 | 362 | 585 | 61.9 | 3,418 | 5.8 | 21 | 17 | 117 |
| 2001 | 11 | 365 | 529 | 69.0 | 3,502 | 6.6 | 25 | 9 | 136.8 |
| 2002 | 14 | 479 | 712 | 67.3 | 5,017 | 7.0 | 45 | 13 | 143.7 |
| Career[10] | 43 | 1,231 | 1,883 | 65.4 | 12,429 | 6.6 | 95 | 40 | 133.2 |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Wonderlic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft3+1⁄2 in (1.92 m) | 213 lb (97 kg) | 32 in (0.81 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | 4.77 s | 1.63 s | 2.74 s | 4.10 s | 6.92 s | 30.0 in (0.76 m) | 8 ft 5 in (2.57 m) | 31[citation needed] | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[11][12] | ||||||||||||
Kingsbury was selected by theNew England Patriots with the 201st overall selection (6th round) of the2003 NFL draft.[13] He did not play in hisrookie season of2003, spending the year on the Patriots'injured reserve with an arm injury.[14] He did, however, get a Super Bowl ring. He waswaived by the Patriots on September 6, 2004.
He was signed by theNew Orleans Saints to the team'spractice squad, where he spent the entire2004 season. He went to training camp with the Saints that season and completed 10-of-21 passes for 139 yards with a long of 57 yards and two interceptions.[6]
He was signed to theDenver Broncos' practice squad on September 6, 2005, and was released on September 21, 2005.
He then signed with theNew York Jets on September 28, 2005.[6] Kingsbury made his NFL debut on November 20, 2005, playing part of the fourth quarter for the Jets against the Denver Broncos.[15] He completed one of two pass attempts for 17 yards.[16]
The Jets assigned Kingsbury to theCologne Centurions ofNFL Europe in 2006. He posted the top quarterback rating of any Cologne quarterback (73.7) while completing 58 of 102 passes for 633 yards and two touchdowns. He also led Cologne with a 56.9 completion percentage.
He was waived by the Jets on May 30, 2006.[17]
TheBuffalo Bills signed Kingsbury in 2006 and he attended training camp with the Bills but he was cut before the regular season.[3]
On March 30, 2007, Kingsbury signed with theMontreal Alouettes. He spent part of training camp in Montreal before being traded to theWinnipeg Blue Bombers on June 20 in exchange for quarterbackBrad Banks.[3] He was the third-string quarterback for the2007 Blue Bombers season behindKevin Glenn andRyan Dinwiddie.[18]
In August 2008, Kingsbury joined theHouston Cougars as a quality control coach.[19] Kingsbury received recognition for the performance of the Houston offense in 2009 withCase Keenum at the helm. Keenum finished his Houston career with multiple NCAA Division I passing records. With Holgorsen departing to become the offensive coordinator atOklahoma State University, Kingsbury was promoted co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Cougars alongsideJason Phillips. In 2011, Kingsbury served as playcaller of an offense that lead the NCAA in nearly all offensive statistics, averaging 50 points and nearly 600 yards per game.[20]
Kingsbury was named the offensive coordinator for theTexas A&M Aggies in 2012, coachingHeisman Trophy-winning quarterbackJohnny Manziel.[21] The Aggies led theSoutheastern Conference in rushing, passing, total and scoring offense, and were the nation's only offense ranked in the top 15 of the NCAA statistics in all four categories.[22] Kingsbury was named a finalist for theBroyles Award.[23]
With the rapid success with Manziel, Kingsbury asked head coachKevin Sumlin to make him the highest paid offensive coordinator in the country; Sumlin refused. Kingsbury then moved on, accepting the head coaching job with theTexas Tech Red Raiders on December 12, 2012.[24] His contract included a salary of $10.5 million over five years.[25] At 33, Kingsbury was the second-youngest head coach of a team in anAQ conference and the third-youngest head coach in college football.[26]
Kingsbury made his head coaching debut August 30, 2013, with a 41–23 victory over theSMU Mustangs. Kingsbury chose walk-on true freshman quarterbackBaker Mayfield for the starting role at the position, and Mayfield was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. Mayfield was later supplanted byDavis Webb, another true freshman quarterback, due to a knee injury during theKansas game. Following Webb's first start againstIowa State, Webb was also named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. Texas Tech became the only school in the Big 12 Conference to have had three different freshman quarterbacks win the award, with the first being Kingsbury himself in 1999.[27]
The Red Raiders made theirAssociated Press Top 25 debut in the Kingsbury era following a win over TCU on September 12, 2013.[28] It was the earliest a first year coach at Texas Tech achieved a spot in the rankings. Kingsbury also became the first coach in Texas Tech history to start the season 6–0 in their debut season after the Red Raiders defeated Iowa State on October 12, 2013. Following a victory against West Virginia on October 19, 2013, Kingsbury led the Red Raiders to a 7–0 start for only the fourth time in program history. The 10th-place ranking the team received in the BCS also marked the highest the program had been ranked since the2008 season. With the win over West Virginia, Kingsbury became the first Big 12 coach to start his career 7–0.[29] The Red Raiders lost the final five games of the season, finishing the rookie coach's first regular season at 7–5.Tight endJace Amaro was also named as a ConsensusAll-American, the first Red Raider to be selected as such sinceMichael Crabtree in 2008.[30]
Kingsbury and the Red Raiders capped off the season with a 37–23 upset over the #14 rankedArizona State in the2013 Holiday Bowl following an impressive performance by quarterback Davis Webb.[31] Two of Kingsbury's players would be selected in the2014 NFL draft, Amaro andWill Smith. Following the season, Baker Mayfield transferred toOklahoma. He eventually won the 2017Heisman Trophy and was selected first in the2018 NFL draft. On August 29, 2014, Kingsbury received a $1 million raise to $3.5 million and a contract extension through 2020.[25] The extension was given following an announcement for a $185 million athletic fundraising campaign.[32] Under Kingsbury's leadership Texas Tech sold out 2014 season tickets for the first time since Texas Tech's inaugural 1925 season.[citation needed] The 2014 team struggled with numerous injuries, finishing 4–8 on the season.
The 2015 season concluded at 7–6 before losing in the Texas Bowl to LSU.[33] The Red Raiders finished 5–7 in 2016.[34] The team disappointed with conference wins against Kansas, TCU, and Baylor and finished in 8th place in the Big 12. The Red Raiders finished the 2016 season with a 55–34 victory over Baylor. This victory snapped a 5-game losing streak against the Bears. The 2016 team finished with the 6th best offense and the worst defense in Division I FBS.[35] The team finished the 2017 season 6–7.[36] The team showed signs of improvement as the offense finishing #16 in the country overcoming the loss of first round pickPatrick Mahomes. The defense also showed signs of improvement jumping up to joint #58 overall, a vast improvement for a defense that was the worst in the NCAA the prior season.[37] At the conclusion of the season, athletic directorKirby Hocutt confirmed that Kingsbury would be returning for his 6th season as the Red Raiders coach.[38]
The 2018 season started quickly with the Red Raiders defeatingHouston andOklahoma State on their way to a 5–2 record.[39][40] Texas Tech then dropped its final five games of the season to finish at 5–7.[41] Three straight losing seasons overall and six straight losing seasons in the Big 12 ultimately sealed the fate for Kingsbury.[42] Athletic directorKirby Hocutt announced on November 25 that Kingsbury would not be retained for the 2019 season.[43] He left with an overall record of 35–40 (including 13 victories over lower tier Group of Five andFCS competition) and 19–35 in Big 12 play.[44]
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Kingsbury was hired byUSC as their new offensive coordinator in December 2018 but resigned a month later to look into NFL opportunities.[45] On January 8, 2019, he was hired as head coach of theArizona Cardinals.[46] Some attributed Kingsbury's hiring to the "Sean McVay effect", a trend in the league of teams hiring youngeroffensive minded head coaches.[47][48] Kingsbury won his first game against theCincinnati Bengals and finished the season 4th in theNFC West with a record of 5–10–1. In 2020, the Cardinals finished 3rd in the NFC West with a 8–8 record. In October 2021, Kingsbury and several other Cardinals coaches had tested positive forCOVID-19 and were unable to coach in a game against theCleveland Browns. The Cardinals finished 2nd in the NFC West and made the playoffs with an 11–6 record. In his playoff debut, Kingsbury and the Cardinals lost 34–11 in the first round to the eventualSuper Bowl championLos Angeles Rams. Despite signing a six-year contract extension earlier in 2022, Kingsbury was fired after the Cardinals posted a 4–13 record that year.[49] He finished his tenure with a 28–37–1 record and one playoff appearance.
Kingsbury joined theUSC Trojans as a senior offensive analyst under head coachLincoln Riley in April 2023, where he worked with quarterbackCaleb Williams.[50]
On February 5, 2024, Kingsbury was hired by theWashington Commanders asoffensive coordinator under head coachDan Quinn.[51] He had previously been negotiating for the same role with theLas Vegas Raiders before talks fell through.[52] Working with rookie quarterbackJayden Daniels, who set the rookie record for most rushing yards in a season at his position, Washington's offense tied for the franchise's second most total points in a season (485) and ranked among the top three in rushing and total yards in team history.[53][54] Following the 2025 season, Kingsbury and the team mutually agreed to part ways.[55]
On February 6, 2026, theLos Angeles Rams hired Kingsbury as a senior offensive assistant under head coachSean McVay.[56]
Kingsbury was born inSan Antonio, Texas. His father, Tim Kingsbury, is aPurple Heart recipient of theVietnam War. Kingsbury's mother Sally died in 2005 ofsoft tissue sarcoma. He graduated fromNew Braunfels High School where he was starting quarterback.[57] Kingsbury graduated in 2001 with aBachelor of Business Administration degree inmanagement from theRawls College of Business at Texas Tech.[58][59]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Tech Red Raiders(Big 12 Conference)(2013–2018) | |||||||||
| 2013 | Texas Tech | 8–5 | 4–5 | 6th | WHoliday | ||||
| 2014 | Texas Tech | 4–8 | 2–7 | 8th | |||||
| 2015 | Texas Tech | 7–6 | 4–5 | T–5th | LTexas | ||||
| 2016 | Texas Tech | 5–7 | 3–6 | T–6th | |||||
| 2017 | Texas Tech | 6–7 | 3–6 | 8th | LBirmingham | ||||
| 2018 | Texas Tech | 5–7 | 3–6 | T–7th | |||||
| Texas Tech: | 35–40 | 19–35 | |||||||
| Total: | 35–40 | ||||||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| ARI | 2019 | 5 | 10 | 1 | .344 | 4th in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
| ARI | 2020 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
| ARI | 2021 | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 | 2nd in NFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toLos Angeles Rams inNFC Wild Card Game |
| ARI | 2022 | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 4th in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
| Total | 28 | 37 | 1 | .432 | 0 | 1 | .000 | |||
