INDIANAPOLIS — The Arizona Cardinals extended head coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim through the 2027 season, the team announced Wednesday.
The news came as the Cardinals are in a public negotiation with their star quarterback Kyler Murray, who wants an extension, as well, now that he’s eligible following his third NFL season.
Kingsbury, who signed a four-year deal when he was hired in 2019, was set to enter the final year of his initial deal with Arizona. Keim, who became the Cardinals general manager in 2013 after working for the team since 1999, had signed an extension in 2018 that was set to last through 2022. Their simultaneous extensions keep Kingsbury and Keim linked for the next five years.
“The leadership of both Steve and Kliff have been key factors in the team’s turnaround over the last three seasons,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement released by the team. “We are all looking forward to continuing that progress and recognize these two individuals will be a big part of achieving our long-term goals as an organization.”
Kingsbury, who went 35-40 in six seasons at Texas Tech before getting fired following the 2018 season, has led the Cardinals to year-over-year improvements since inheriting a three-win Cardinals team in 2019. They improved to 5-10-1 in in his first season followed by an 8-8 record in 2020 and 11-6 in 2021, when they made the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
However, Kingsbury’s success in Arizona has been marred by late-season meltdowns.
In 2020, Arizona started 5-2 and finished 3-6, missing the playoffs after losing two win-and-you’re-in games in the final two weeks. The Cardinals started 7-0 this season but finished the year 4-6 and were blown out in their wild-card game loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
With Kingsbury and Keim receiving extensions, the focus will turn to Murray.
On Monday, his agent, Erik Burkhardt, released statement early Monday morning that explained how a detailed contract proposal was sent to the Cardinals and that Murray can offer long-term stability to the organization
On Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine, Keim said he has had “constant dialogue” with Burkhardt but neither coach nor general manager had talked to Murray since the statement.
Burkhardt also represents Kingsbury and congratulated the coach “on his well-earned contract extension” in a tweet.
Source: www.espn.com