TEMPE — The chances of being fired the same year you receive a contract extension is slim in the NFL.
But not impossible.
And after watching head coach Kliff Kingsbury and the Arizona Cardinals offense put up another putrid performance in a 19-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the noise for such a thing has only grown louder in the desert.
“I think that comes with the profession,” Kingsbury told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Monday. “I think when you have had the start that we’ve had offensively, that talk is going to be out there. Quite frankly, it should be.
In an exclusive interview on @WolfandLuke, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury says he is coaching for his job. pic.twitter.com/b4XbGB79ZS
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 17, 2022
“We should play better and we all know that. Week in and week out, we all feel like we’re kind of coaching for our jobs in this profession. We got to get better on offense.”
Through six weeks of the season, the Cardinals offense has looked completely out of sorts, save for a half of improbable football against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2. Arizona is in the bottom half of the NFL in points per game with 19 and is middle of the road in total yards per game with 346. For an offense that is littered with talent, that is not the business.
The debacle in Week 6 was easily the most glaring when it comes to that unit, however.
Held to just three points against one of the worst defenses in the NFL, the Cardinals offense was manhandled on the road, a place where the team has been able to hang its hat with Arizona’s home woes still unsolved.
The only touchdown for the Cardinals on Sunday came courtesy of the defense, which is seeing its stellar performances result to little in recent weeks. Despite holding opponents to 20 points or fewer over the past four weeks — including the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles — Arizona has just one win under its belt over that span.
It’s not getting any easier for Kingsbury and Co., either.
While wideout DeAndre Hopkins is back in the fold for Week 7 after serving his six-game suspension, those eager to see the WR room at full strength will have to continue to wait with Hollywood Brown out indefinitely with a foot injury suffered in the loss to Seattle.
The Cardinals did acquire wide receiver Robbie Anderson from the Carolina Panthers on Monday, but the jury’s still out as to whether or not he’ll suit up with just a few days before the game kicks off. And even if he does, Kingsbury said he’ll be used in a limited basis.
Adding to the injury issues is starting left guard Justin Pugh, who will miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury sustained in Seattle.
But as Kingsbury said on Monday, the Cardinals aren’t the only team dealing with key injuries at this point of the season. It’s the nature of the NFL and can’t be an excuse for this team’s transgressions six weeks in.
And if things don’t go the Cardinals’ way Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints, there might need to be a serious shake-up on how this team operates moving forward, with Kingsbury relinquishing play-calling duties — or at the very least taking a step back — already near the top of a lot of people’s wish list for this football team.
If that’s what has to happen to figure things out and jumpstart the offense before the season gets completely sideways, Kingsbury is all in.
“Definitely, whatever it takes to win, whatever it takes to score points,” Kingsbury told Wolf & Luke. “Anything goes in this league and so we’ll examine all avenues.
“Obviously on a short week, that’d be tough to go by, but we’ll see how things go. Whatever it takes to make us to get better, I’m all for it.”
