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Thirteen weeks in, Matt Eberflus became the first head coach to lose his job during the 2024 regular season. With the Chicago Bears now without a head coach, rumors are flying around regarding their next potential hire with Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury becoming an obvious name to consider.
Due to his ties to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams at USC, Kingsbury is a name to watch during the upcoming offseason, Ian Rapoport reported. Kingsbury was an offensive analyst under Lincoln Riley at USC during the 2023 season; Williams' last year in Los Angeles.
Like Williams, Kingsbury left USC after the 2023 season for the NFL. In his first year as the Commanders' offensive coordinator, Kingsbury has flourished, with many crediting him for rookie Jayden Daniels' early success. As such, he is considered to be one of the several offensive coordinators who will be head coaching candidates during the 2025 offseason.
While Kingsbury has become a name to watch, previous reports have suggested that the team will prioritize interim head coach Thomas Brown. Should Brown lead Chicago to a promising end to the 2024 season, he would have a firm lead on the competition to be retained as the permanent hire.
Having taken over after the Bears' Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions, Brown has five games to work with before the end of the 2024 season. The 38-year-old Sean McVay disciple began the year as the team's passing game coordinator before being promoted to offensive coordinator and ultimately interim head coach.
Kliff Kingsbury's volatile coaching career
If he is hired as a head coach during the upcoming summer, Kingsbury would be getting a second chance in the NFL. He previously served as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022 and went just 28-37-1 in four years before he was fired. Before that, Kingsbury was the head coach of his alma mater, Texas Tech, for six middling years.
For as rough as his tenure with the Cardinals ended, his origin with Arizona remains one of the most unorthodox coaching hires in league history. Shortly after being fired from Texas Tech, Kingsbury agreed to become the offensive coordinator of USC. However, one month later, he puzzlingly shocked the football world when he signed with Arizona to become their next head coach. Both his lack of qualifications and terms of his hire were called into question after the announcement.
Since retiring from professional football in 2007, Kingsbury immediately became a offensive-minded coaching prodigy with the University of Houston from 2008 to 2011. As a former quarterback, he is often credited for his developmental work with young signal callers, beginning with coaching Houston's Case Keenum to becoming the NCAA's all-time passing yards leader.
Kingsbury is also credited for the early development of Patrick Mahomes, whom he coached in college at Texas Tech. He also served as Texas A&M's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2012, the year that Johnny Manziel took home the Heisman Trophy.
