Commanders’ Kliff Kingsbury Floated as Possible Head Coach in NFC North

Getty Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingbury.

The more the Washington Commanders continue to win and the more rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels continues to shine, the more head coaching buzz we’ll hear surrounding offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

ESPN’s Pat McAfee was the latest to toss a little gasoline on the fire on November 12 on “The Pat McAfee Show” when he suggested Kingsbury could be the man to replace Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus if and when the Bears decided to part ways with Eberflus after 3 seasons.

“… is (the next Bears head coach) another guy calling plays for a team with a dominant, historic offense and another rookie quarterback in Kliff Kingsbury?” McAfee asked rhetorically. “It could be.”

Just 9 games into his NFL career, No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams no longer seems like the surefire star he was when the Bears selected him out of USC in April and has seen the gap between himself and No. 2 overall pick Daniels on the Commanders widen with every game.

Williams’ play has fallen off to the point he’s being talked about as the worst of the 4 rookie starting quarterbacks from the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

That hasn’t been the only part of the game Eberflus has fallen short. Most notably, his late-game decisions led to the Bears being on the wrong side of the most thrilling moment of the 2024 regular season when the Bears lost to the Commanders in Week 8 on a 52-yard Hail Mary as time expired.

The Bears are now 4-5 after 3 consecutive losses headed into a critical Week 11 game against their NFC North rival Green Bay Packers.

Kingsbury Likely Targeted For Another HC Job

This isn’t the first time Kingsbury’s name has been tossed out as a possible NFL head coach in 2025.

The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz asserted Kingsbury is headed in that direction after Daniels went out with a rib injury against the Carolina Panthers and backup Marcus Mariota stepped in for a seamless transition on the way to a 40-7 win in Week 7.

Washington is off to a 7-3 start and seems primed to make a run at a playoff spot.

“I’m going to award the head coach of the New York Giants job to Kliff Kingsbury after today,” Ruiz said after Week 7. “I think Kliff is getting a head coaching job. I don’t know if you guys are ready for that or not, but Kliff is returning to head coaching next year. Marcus Mariota comes in (against the Panthers) and it looks like the same offense as with Jayden Daniels.”

Kingsbury’s Past as Power Five, NFL Head Coach

On the college level, Kingsbury went 35-40 overall in 6 seasons as Texas Tech’s head coach despite having either 2018 NFL draft No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield or 2-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes as his starting quarterback for four seasons.

The Arizona Cardinals hired Kingsbury as their head coach right after he was fired by Texas Tech. He coached the Cardinals from 2019 to 2022, going 28-37-1 with a 4-13 record in his final season. In 10 seasons as a head coach at Texas Tech and with the Cardinals, Kingsbury has had just 3 winning seasons.