Cardinals’ Spencer Whipple applauds Kliff Kingsbury’s open approach

The Arizona Cardinals coaching staff did some shuffling this offseason with the promotions of a handful of assistants, including Spencer Whipple and Cam Turner to co-pass game coordinators.

After getting a one-game taste of play-calling duties last season when head coach Kliff Kingsbury was sidelined by COVID-19, Whipple now gets the chance to put his stamp on the offense on a regular basis.

“That just puts you in a different position in getting to call that which was great, grateful for it, and shows you what it’s really like during that day,” Whipple told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Wednesday.

“And now moving into the season, the offseason, just contributing a little bit more in game planning and watching tape and offering up ideas for coach and the rest of the staff and taking that into training camp and into the season.”

“It’s a great position, really grateful to receive the promotion and be here for the fourth season with coach and everybody here on staff,” Whipple added. “It feels crazy that it’s already been four seasons.”

And while Kliff Kingsbury said game-to-game operations won’t change much on his end, the move up the ladder shows the head coach’s trust in not just Whipple but the others on staff as well.

Kingsbury’s confidence in those around him on offense has shown as the unit has continued to evolve over the years using new ways to push the ball down the field.

For Whipple, the tight-knit feel and ever-changing ways of attacking a defense are testaments to how Kingsbury runs things and the way he operates with both his staff and players.

“He’s always open to new ideas — obviously we have a base line of install plays and things that we’re used to running — but coach is so open to new, fresh ideas. If there’s maybe a different way of doing something he’s open to it.

“That just goes back again to the closeness of the staff, the ability to contribute to game plan and coach just puts the players in the best position. … He does a great job of that during the season and getting everybody involved. That’s something I learned from coach is the willingness to be open to new things and just put guys in the best position to execute on Sundays.”

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