Like the careers of McVay and Nagy, Kingsbury has drawn ample respect for producing prolific offenses in challenging circumstances. That also explains why NFL teams are considering him despite amassing a less-than-flattering 35-40 record in six seasons at Texas Tech. Typically, those aren’t results that land people in NFL head coaching searches. But Kingsbury also has some key exclamation points on his résumé that matter in today’s NFL.
Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield as quarterback prospects, while also helping to develop Case Keenum, Johnny Manziel and Davis Webb into NFL players.
Perhaps more important, the offenses Kingsbury developed were often layered and molded to the skills of his players, creating success with players who had varied strengths and weaknesses." data-reactid="33">Chief among them:
In three seasons as a coordinator at the University of Houston and Texas A&M and six seasons as a head coach at Texas Tech, Kingsbury guided five offenses that finished in the top five in scoring in the nation. I
nside that span, he was credited with identifying both Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield as quarterback prospects, while also helping to develop Case Keenum, Johnny Manziel and Davis Webb into NFL players. Perhaps more important, the offenses Kingsbury developed were often layered and molded to the skills of his players, creating success with players who had varied strengths and weaknesses.
Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen, for example) for a 10-15 year run. That’s a template many teams are looking for, envisioning a dynamic along the lines of Sean Payton and Drew Brees, McVay and Jared Goff, Andy Reid and Mahomes or Nagy and Mitchell Trubisky.
Not surprisingly, three of those head coaches — Payton, Reid and McVay — have all been admirers of some of Kingsbury’s offensive work in recent years. So much so that Kingsbury likely could have been added to any of those staffs in some capacity if he had expressed an interest." data-reactid="34">Having touched the careers of three high level NFL starters in 2018 — Mahomes, Mayfield and Keenum — was already enough to get the attention of league evaluators. But Kingsbury also has the added bonus of being 39 years old, which creates an opportunity to pair an inventive offensive mind with a young NFL quarterback (like a
Sam Darnold or
Josh Rosen, for example) for a 10-15 year run. That’s a template many teams are looking for, envisioning a dynamic along the lines of Sean Payton and
Drew Brees, McVay and
Jared Goff, Andy Reid and Mahomes or Nagy and
Mitchell Trubisky. Not surprisingly, three of those head coaches — Payton, Reid and McVay — have all been admirers of some of Kingsbury’s offensive work in recent years. So much so that Kingsbury likely could have been added to any of those staffs in some capacity if he had expressed an interest.
