Commanders Hire Kliff Kingsbury As New Offensive Coordinator

The Washington Commanders have hired Kliff Kingsbury as the new offense coordinator, rounding out the team’s coaching vacancies.

Washington has also hired Dan Quinn as the next head coach and Joe Whitt Jr. as their new defensive coordinator. Kingsbury was in contention for the role of offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders, but as contract talks dwindled, Washington quickly came in and claimed their new playcaller.

The Commanders finished the season last in the NFC East at 4-13, which ended the Ron Rivera era in Washington.

Kingsbury is taking over the offense from Eric Bienemy, who was let go after just one year as the team’s assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. The Commanders were in the bottom half of the league in most offensive stats, tied for 25th in points per game at 19.4 and 24th in yards per game at 312.8.

Kingsbury has major NFL coaching experience, as he was previously the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2019-2022. In his four years with the team with quarterback Kyler Murray, Kingsbury held a 28-37-1 record with just one playoff appearance. The team peaked in 2021 when they were ranked eighth in the league in yards and 11th in points, but fell drastically the next year following Murray’s ACL injury.

Kingsbury was most recently in an offensive analyst and quarterback’s coaching position with USC in the fall of 2023, working with projected first-overall pick Caleb Williams. Washington spent all of last season with quarterback Sam Howell but can trade with the Chicago Bears to select Williams or also choose from other college stars like Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels or Michael Penix Jr., as their second overall pick.

Kingsbury was in talks with the Bears to fill their offensive coordinator vacancy, and though they are expected to take Williams with their first overall pick, they didn’t choose to hire his most recent coach. Kingsbury has spent time developing young quarterbacks as along with Williams as he coached Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield during his tenure as head coach of Texas Tech.

With his history and their standing in the draft, the 44-year-old with more than 15 years of NFL and college coaching experience should be a perfect fit for a Washington team looking to build around a young star.