Kliff Kingsbury, Staff Not Focused on Job Security
Black Monday is quickly approaching, and many expect the Arizona Cardinals to be one of a handful teams to make staff changes.
For those unfamiliar: 'Black Monday' is the term used for the day after the regular season ends where teams fire coaches. Last season, the league saw ten job openings in the offseason.
Thus far, organizations such as the Panthers, Colts and Broncos have already gotten a head start on their search for a new leader, with others soon to follow suit.
The Cardinals, sitting at 4-12 and facing one of the league's top teams in San Francisco to wrap things up, are expected to join the party.
Arizona has battled injuries/adversity all season, yet with one final game to go, head coach Kliff Kingsbury says it hasn't been challenging trying to rally the troops despite having nothing but pride to play for.
"Yeah, it really hasn't [been challenging] because it's a lot of young guys who get an opportunity to play. They understand how valuable game film is in this league and our veterans are great leaders who make sure that message is heard and known," he told reporters on Friday.
"They're continuing to push through. So as coaches, I can't say enough about this group and the daily preparation, the professionalism they've shown and continue to fight and battle and keep us in games even when we're short-handed at times."
Friday marked the final practice for Arizona's season, having been out of playoff contention for weeks now.
The Cardinals will enter 2023 with new faces at different spots in an attempt to right the ship, though nobody knows exactly change will occur. This will be one of the final moments they share as a collective unit.
"Just gotta enjoy being around each other. It's been a lot of ups and downs and a lot of adversity everybody's faced. Like I said all along, they stuck together and it's a tight-knit group," Kingsbury said. "So [we're] just trying to enjoy each other's last for 48 hours and try to play our best game."
Kingsbury's seen his name heavily involved in rumors around job security, but he says he isn't focused on anything past this week.
"We've talked with Michael [Bidwill], I have every day. So at this point, it's just about trying to win this game," Kingsbury said. "So we haven't talked postseason. We haven't talked moves, anything like that. It's just about current issues and trying to win."
When asked directly if he expected to be the head coach of the Cardinals next season, he responded, "We'll focus on that after Sunday. But like I said, all our talk has been nothing but how do we win this game."
On Thursday, Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph (who revealed he signed an extension with Arizona last offseason) said the players love playing for Kingsbury.
"The football part can be fixed. Obviously injuries, that part can be fixed with healthier players next year, but the culture, if that breaks down - as a coach that can be your demise, right? I think here that hadn't happened," Joseph told reporters.
"Guys are playing hard. The guys love playing for coach [Kingsbury]. He hadn't changed one bit from last year winning to this year not winning. He's been the same guy every day. I think the players respect that.
"The timelines, we're not sure. Again, our focus is about Sunday, win the game and playing good again and being competitive against a very good team. That's our focus. Monday morning we'll know obviously what's going on, but it's been honest all year. We've coached hard, we've played all year, so I have no regrets."
There's a seed of doubt in some of those statements, yet in just a few days we'll see if guys such as Kingsbury or Joseph have reason to worry.
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