The Houston Texans’ new head coach DeMeco Ryans is wasting no time sorting out his coaching staff. After hiring Matt Burke to be his new defensive coordinator, Ryans is also close to sorting out the offensive coordinator position.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, Ryans’ first choice is former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Reportedly, Kingsbury is interested in making a swift return to NFL after being fired by the Cardinals last month and has already traveled to Houston to meet with Texans’ brass.
If Kingsbury ends up taking the job, the Texans could have two former Cardinals employees coordinating both sides of the ball. Burke spent the 2022 season on Kingsbury’s staff, serving as defensive line coach.
Kliff Kingsbury rose to prominence as a bright offensive mind during his time as a head coach of Texas Tech. This reputation helped him land the job as the Cardinals’ head coach in 2019, with the franchise hoping he could get the best out of quarterback Kyler Murray.
After going 13-18-1 in his first two years in Arizona, Kingsbury led the Cardinals to an 11-6 record in 2021. But despite a strong regular season, the team disappointed in the playoffs and got eliminated in the Wild Card game after a blowout 11-34 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Cardinals hoped they can make a deeper run in 2022, but inconsistencies and a series of injuries resulted in the worst campaign of Kingsbury’s tenure. The team finished 4-13, prompting the ownership to fire Kingsbury despite handing him a contract extension the year before.
