Kliff Kingsbury avoids potential disaster after making final call on his future with Commanders
A big reason why the Washington Commanders had so much success in 2024 is because of what offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was able to with Jayden Daniels and Co.Kingsbury had the Commanders offense going from basically the start of the season. Sure, there were a few rough patches, but it's impossible to argue against the […]
A big reason why the Washington Commanders had so much success in 2024 is because of what offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was able to with Jayden Daniels and Co.
Kingsbury had the Commanders offense going from basically the start of the season. Sure, there were a few rough patches, but it's impossible to argue against the overall product that was on display through 20 games.
Said success landed him on a few teams' head coaching radars and rightfully so. And, naturally, that launched rumors and speculation surrounding Kingsbury's immediate future with the Commanders. Will he stay or will he take a swing at a second attempt at a head coaching gig in the NFL?
He was adamant throughout that he wasn't focusing on any of the noise and was instead concentrating on the things that matter most, like Washington's playoff run. Kingsbury's actions backed up his words on Tuesday when it was reported that he will stay with the Commanders in 2025 despite interest from the New Orleans Saints, the last team left in the head coach hunt.
Taking the Saints job would've been flirting with disaster
The Saints job, as it currently stands, is not an attractive one.
For starters, New Orleans is in its annual cap hell. Per Over The Cap, the Saints are currently more than $52 million over the salary cap and while this is routine business for them, they don't have the typical contract structures that usually help them dig out of the hole. The best way to eliminate a good chunk of the deficit would be to release Derek Carr with a post-June 1 designation, but even then, the Saints wouldn't receive any cap relief until June 2. At that point, free agency has come and gone, so there wouldn't be anything to show for the release.
And when zooming out and looking at the roster as a whole, there are a lot of questions, especially if the Saints move on from Carr. The Saints do have eight draft picks that include six in the first four rounds, but every single pick would have to hit if the team wants to be competitive in 2025.
None of the above is ideal or even close to ideal for a coach that would be on his second go-around. Sure, teams with open head coaching positions are usually not in the best situations, but the Saints are one of the worst situations a coach could enter into. If Kingsbury were unable to repair things, then he may as well and say goodbye to the idea of ever being an NFL head coach again.
And the obvious part of all of it: Why would he immediately leave what he's built with Jayden Daniels? The duo should accomplish even bigger and better things in 2025 and the Commanders have the infrastructure via draft capital and cap space to make it happen.
Kingsbury made the right call and he and the Commanders offense should be much, much better for it when things kick off in September.
Commanders’ dream trade has already been shut down and the offseason hasn’t even officially started yet
While the Washington Commanders' season ended with an embarrassing thud, the offseason holds so much potential and opportunity for the team to improve it's not even funny. The Commanders currently have seven draft picks and over $87.5 million in cap space. With Jayden Daniels' contract set in, as well as several other key players, Adam […]
