The Arizona Cardinals have hired former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury to be their next head coach, with hopes that he can help develop Josh Rosen into a franchise quarterback. Kingsbury had his share of struggles at Texas Tech, but he is viewed as an innovative offensive mind.
Considering how the NFL as a whole and the NFC West in particular have evolved the past two years, the hiring is not exactly shocking. Kingsbury brings plenty of college-style offense, and of course he is also incredibly young. Kingsbury is 39, turning 40 next August. He is actually now the second oldest coach in the NFC West. Pete Carroll turned 67, turning 68 next September, Kyle Shanahan turned 39 in December, and Sean McVay turns 33 in two weeks.
The ever popular Steve Buscemi GIF immediately springs to mind when thinking of Carroll meeting the rest of the NFC West coaches.
Pete Carroll showing up to the annual NFC West coaching get-together that absolutely exists. pic.twitter.com/pQOhQ1CN6b
— Alex Kolodziej (@AlexKoIodziej) January 8, 2019
Chris Biderman offered up another interesting angle on the three young coaches vs. the older Carroll.
The NFC West should be a really fun division with Kliff Kingsbury joining the mix. Three young, innovative offensive guys… and the sage defensive coach Pete Carroll.
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) January 8, 2019
The NFC West had already been developing into an interesting division, but adding Kingsbury takes it to another level. Kingsbury could crash and burn, and his time at Texas Tech raises some questions, but there’s something to be said for the Cardinals shooting their shot with this kind of hire. It’s not a shocking hire given how the past few weeks have gone, but it is still an outside the box hiring instead of the usual retreads. That counts for something. Cardinals fans are excited.