The Arizona Cardinals have fired coach Kliff Kingsbury and parted ways with manager Steve Keim. Check out why Kliff Kingsbury was fired ?

Why Cardinals Fire Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury ?

The Cardinals fired Kingsbury as their head coach on Monday, less than 12 months after he signed a multi-year extension with the team. Kingsbury was 28-37-1 in his four seasons at the helm in Arizona.

Why Cardinals Fire Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury ?

His firing comes a day after the Cardinals lost their season finale 38-13 to the 49ers, completing a 4-13 season.

In a separate report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim informed the team that he planned to step down from his role to focus on his health.

The Cardinals made both moves official on Monday afternoon.

“We have announced that head coach Kliff Kingsbury has been relieved of his duties,” the statement read. “In addition, general manager Steve Keim has decided to step away from his position to focus on his health. The team wishes them well and thanks both of them for their contributions.”

Kingsbury, the former head coach at Texas Tech University, arrived in Arizona in January 2019. Although the Cardinals had a solid season in 2021, reaching the wild-card round of the playoffs, they stumbled out of the gate this year and finished the season at 4-13.

Leading up to Sunday’s season finale in San Francisco, in which the 49ers blew out the Cardinals, 38-13, speculation mounted that Kingsbury could be on his way out.

In December, the 43-year-old Kingsbury addressed rumors that he was “miserable” amid a challenging season.

He was asked about a pointed ESPN article, which speculated if his relationship with quarterback Kyler Murray has soured, and if he was considering walking away.

Why Cardinals Fire Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury ?

Among the potential candidates if there’s a change: former Saints head coach Sean Payton, who a source says has done homework on the Arizona job in case it comes open but wouldn’t come cheap; and Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, the former Broncos head coach who is highly respected in the building.

The Cardinals were sufficiently encouraged by the team’s progress last season that they signed Kingsbury and Keim to extensions through the 2027 season and inked quarterback Kyler Murray to a lucrative deal through the 2028 season. But nothing much has gone right since.

One year after going 11-6 — their best mark and first playoff appearance since the 2015 season — the Cardinals are 4-12 entering Sunday’s game at San Francisco.

Murray might not be ready for the start of the 2023 season after tearing the ACL and meniscus in his right knee on Dec. 12. Two days later, the Cardinals announced Keim was leaving the team on his leave of absence.

By Rishabh

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