Big Red
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- Mar 16, 2019
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“When it comes down to him speaking Xs and Os, that’s his type of language,” Robertson said. “He wants to be hands on. He wants to be able to understand the players he has, so he can use them to the best of their ability.”
It isn’t as if he ignores other parts of the team. Joseph said Kingsbury meets with him daily to discuss the defense and the personnel on that side of the ball. Rodgers said Kingsbury and he will have any number of conversations about topics across the gamut of running a team, whether it be practice structure or travel planning.
Even offensively, Kingsbury has made sure to take suggestions for the best scenarios.
“I think they understood I’m not one of these guys who will yell at you for trying to get it right,” Kingsbury said. “I want to get it right, regardless of how it’s done.”
That open-mindedness was one of the factors in his favor when the Cardinals made the hire.
“As a first-time (NFL) head coach, nobody has all the answers,” Keim said. “That job is humbling and as long as you take it with the mindset ‘I will lean on some of the people that I trust when I have questions,’ that’s all you can ask for. He’s been phenomenal in that area.
“He has a great core philosophy. He’s got a great demeanor. Players really like him, which is important because they have to buy in to what he is selling.”
As a head coach, what Kingsbury is selling is the business-like atmosphere he wants for his team. Defensive tackle Corey Peters said there have been a number of team-wide meetings that last all of two or three minutes.
“My favorite thing about Kliff is he is straight to the point,” Peters said. “He doesn’t waste any time, especially in his meetings, he says what he needs to say and it’s done.”
That isn’t because Kingsbury doesn’t know what to say. It’s because he believes in the professionalism of his players, and he has no interest in inefficiency. That’s why his practices will sometimes finish early, why he believes in breaks during practices and meetings but also why, if a play doesn’t work to his satisfaction in practice, he’ll usually demand the players do it again.
Kingsbury may get deep inside the guts of the offense, but he knows wins and losses will be all encompassing.
“He didn’t come in with a motto, he didn’t come in with a slogan,” center A.Q. Shipley said. “He wanted to coach football and that’s what he’s done.”
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