The deteriorating relationship between Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury have made the duo “increasingly distant” over the past year even after a season-ending injury for the 25-year-old QB, according to a Friday report from ESPN.
“It's not good,” a Cardinals source told ESPN said last month. “It seems particularly bad this year.”
Kyler Murray said he “wanted more freedom at the line of scrimmage, particularly with running plays,” but the two never seemed to be on the same page for certain plays “either due to miscommunication, a play breaking down or Murray improvising, and the disjointed attack created unpredictability for some of the team's pass-catchers.”
The Cardinals are currently 4-10 after 15 weeks of play, most recently allowing a 24-15 win from the Denver Broncos in Mile High Stadium. Former Penn State standout Trace McSorley took the start against the Broncos after Colt McCoy was benched from the game while on concussion protocol, playing in what ESPN writers Jeremy Fowler and Josh Weinfuss called a “lifeless loss” as he threw two interceptions and made seven of his 15 pass attempts.
The fourth-year Cardinals head coach wasted no time letting ESPN reporters know just how long he had worked as a head coach for both the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Arizona Cardinals, adding his tenure felt ten times longer than it actually was.
“10 years,” Kliff Kingsbury said. “It feels like 100.”
Kliff Kingsbury denied any claims of potential issues between him and the fourth-year Cardinals quarterback's relationship after a 1-point loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in late November.
“We've been good,” Kingsbury said in a postgame press conference. “When you're not winning obviously everybody's going to be a little on edge, but I thought he played really well today. I think moving forward he'll play at a high level. I was proud of his effort.”