"On something of a hot seat" - NFL analyst claims Kliff Kingsbury is under pressure to succeed in 2022

NFL analyst Adam Wilson has asserted that Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury is on the hot seat to win for the team.

"The Arizona Cardinals’ collapse last season after a 7-0 start was deeply disappointing to their fans and owner Michael Bidwill. Ultimately, head coach Kliff Kingsbury survived the 4-6 skid, and he was retained by ownership. But is he on the hot seat in Arizona heading into the 2022 NFL season?" Wilson stated in an article for Pro Football Network.

The 42-year-old head coach has a fifth-year option in his four-year contract that he signed back in 2019 when he was hired by the team.

During a radio interview, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill emphasized multiple times that Kingsbury has a “bright future”.

Bidwell stated that the head coach has made a successful transition from college to the pros.

“I look at the college coaches who have made the transition from college to the pros and the ones that are successful, and Kliff is,” Bidwell said.

“I feel like he’s had an adjustment period," Bidwell continued. "Had a few years to adjust and I feel like he’s going to get better and better because I feel like he understands the pro rules and the pro game and the pro speed and everything else much better than he did a couple of years ago."

“I think it’s very good. The conversations have continued to go on in the offseason and the last few weeks . . . and we’ve got a bright future together. Kliff, Kyler, (general manager) Steve (Keim), all of us have to make great contributions as we go forward. I know they have a great relationship," Bidwell finished.

In the 2021 season, Arizona were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl 2022 champions, the Los Angeles Rams, in the Wild Card round. Kingsbury currently has a 24-24-1 record in three seasons on the Arizona sidelines.

Traveling back to his first season as head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, his teams have a record of 42-20-1 with quick starts in the first seven games of the season. Yet, from the eighth week and beyond, his teams have a 17-45 record during that span from college to the NFL.

Kliff Kingsbury’s coaching resume

Los Angeles Rams v Arizona Cardinals

He spent the first two seasons with the Houston Cougars as part of offensive quality control (2008 and 2009). For two seasons (2010 and 2011), Kingsbury became the Cougars' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach before leaving for Texas A&M in 2012 for the same role.

The coach was hired by Texas Tech in December 2012 at the age of 33 and produced a 35-40 record in six seasons. He was let go by the team in November 2018. He left his offensive coordinator position at USC for the Cardinals head coaching job.

Entering his fourth year with the Cardinals, can he improve up the 11-6 record and a second-place finish in the NFC West? We’ll have to find out when the 2022 season commences.