Rams hiring former Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury for coaching staff

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kliff Kingsbury is joining Sean McVay’s coaching staff with the Los Angeles Rams, a person with knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the Rams haven’t announced the addition of Kingsbury, the respected offensive mind who coached against McVay and the Rams for four seasons in the NFC West as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

The Rams haven’t settled on a formal title for Kingsbury. McVay has a vacancy at offensive coordinator after Mike LaFleur landed the Cardinals’ head coaching job, but up-and-coming assistant Nate Scheelhaase — who interviewed for multiple head coaching jobs last month — is also returning from the current staff.

Kingsbury spent the past two seasons as the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator, leading a powerful offense to the NFC championship game in the 2024 season. He mutually agreed to part ways with head coach Dan Quinn after the Commanders went 5-12 this season while quarterback Jayden Daniels and receiver Terry McLaurin struggled with major injuries.

Kingsbury then interviewed for other offensive coordinator jobs before choosing to join the Rams, who had the NFL’s most productive offense in total yards and points this season while going 12-5 and reaching the NFC title game. McVay’s Rams had never led the league in total offense before this season, and their 30.5 points per game were the second most in his career.

McVay and Kingsbury have been friends for years, and they’ve traded ideas and strategies during previous gaps in Kingsbury’s employment. Now they’ll work together to design schemes for MVP Matthew Stafford, who led the league in yards passing and TD throws, and All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua, the NFL’s receptions leader.

Kingsbury is returning to Los Angeles after spending the 2023 football season as Southern California’s senior offensive analyst alongside Lincoln Riley, his former teammate at Texas Tech.

Kingsbury went 28-37-1 in four seasons with the Cardinals, leading the franchise to its only playoff appearance in the past decade — a 34-11 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Rams in the wild-card Round four seasons ago.

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