Kliff Notes: Kingsbury familiar with Cardinals, takes pride in QB position

A new era of Arizona Cardinals football has officially begun in the desert.

The state got its first look as the Cardinals officially introduced new head coach Kliff Kingsbury on Wednesday.

But while he’s a new face in the Valley — and the NFL — he’s quite familiar with the Cardinals.

“Even though I grew up in Texas, I actually became a Cardinals fan in high school when they drafted Jake Plummer,” Kingsbury said. “Then that rolled right into Kurt Warner. What an incredible story he was, the type of man he was, what he gave back to the community and what he’s still giving. And then came Carson Palmer … and the run he had here was fantastic and followed that closely.

“Then of course Pat Tillman. What a legendary name. … My father was a former marine and Purple Heart recipient and so we’ve always had a great appreciation of the military in our family and to learn the legend of Pat Tillman, to hear that story is always inspiring to my life.”

Taking over the reins of the team he once watched growing up, Kingsbury now meets head-on with the tough task of turning around a franchise that finished the season an NFL-worst 3-13 under former head coach Steve Wilks with a young quarterback in the beginning of his NFL career.

Kingsbury ready to get to work with Rosen

With Josh Rosen’s rookie year coming to a close, he heads into 2019 unknowingly of what to truly expect in the offense.

Luckily for the rookie, Kingsbury brings with him an offensive mind focused on the quarterback.

“I take a lot of pride in that position, I try to see from their eyes,” Kingsbury said when asked about developing Rosen and the offense. “I want to customize the offense to what they do best and make sure they understand me as a play caller and I think that’s worked to our benefit so far.

“Josh Rosen is incredibly talented and one of the most talented throwers you’ll see. A young player obviously that I’m excited to work with and develop, but as a pure thrower, it’s hard to find a guy who throws it better.”

And while the offensive coordinator position has yet to be filled, one thing is already known; Kingsbury is calling the shots.

“[I’ll] be calling the plays. That’s something I think is important to have that relationship with the quarterback that’s what I’ve always done,” Kingsbury said. “I take a lot of pride in that.

“I think the offensive coordinator will be somebody who can come in and mesh some of my ideas with maybe some traditional things that they’ve done in the NFL, be a great leader of men, be able to handle the room, help me install different things.”

Kingsbury looking to the future, not stuck on college record

Already having bit the bullet on a first-year coach with some NFL experience in 2018, the Cardinals turned to one with zero NFL coaching experience to lead the team into the future.

While his record doesn’t necessarily reflect a ton of success, going 35-40 as Texas Tech’s head coach, Kingsbury fits the mold for an NFL trending more and more toward high-powered offenses.

“There’s nothing I can say that’s going to change that,” Kingsbury said of his record. “I know it’s about the work that started yesterday and what we do from this point forward. That’s how I’m attacking that.

“This is a new chapter and a great opportunity and an incredible organization to work for.”

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