Kliff. Are you breaking up with me?

[Ashburn Dave]

No.

I’m not even a Quinn believer, long term.

But no.

I hope you're right because we already missed on Kyle and McVay. Sure would hate to see Kingsbury HC'ing SB's in the near future with another team.

 

[Boone]

Kliff is one dimensional and Adam has probably encouraged him to seek other opportunities. You know. We’d hate to see you go Kliff, but I would not pass up one of them big Head Coaching gigs. How will the league stop you my Guy!

I hear this said a lot (that he's one dimensional). Why do you say that, because statistically it's absolutely not accurate?

 

[Solitary Man]

I hear this said a lot (that he's one dimensional). Why do you say that, because statistically it's absolutely not accurate?

Which statistic? Throwing on 3 downs in a row inside the 1 or whatever it was vs Minnesota. It’s pretty simple. What statistic are you referring to? He has a former head coach as run game coordinator. I would hope that he would have a decent running game. Also he has arguably the strongest position group at offensive line.

The statistics of under center vs in the gun were pretty well documented this year by our local and national media.

Another statistic that might go unnoticed is Jayden Daniels started and finished 3 games this year. 4 separate injuries. Teach him to get rid of the ball. Feel free to cherry pick statistics though. I want Kliff gone.

 

[Boone]

First of all - calm the eff down

Secondly, I have also criticized going pass heavy in the red zone - I think that's a fair criticism.

The 'statistics' I would cite are a very even mix of rushing and passing since Kingsbury came to DC. In no way has he run a pass heavy or dominant offense. While he may have a strong OL (I still think that is yet to be established) when you have no capable WRs and a revolving door at QB, it is very easy for opponents to stack the box and shut down the run game. We've seen that all year long.

I don't know how you look at this offense and call it 'one dimensional'. It may have been more one dimensional in 2025, but that's almost entirely due to injuries all over the offense.

 

[Chris 44]

If Kliff can figure out a way to stay even semi competitive today he might get OC of the year. Lol
Funny how last year I was worried we might lose him but this year im just meh.
Despite some obvious things this year has been almost a total waste of a year evaluation wise.

 

[Riggo44]

remember groupthink wanting to run Kyle out of town because he was too pass happy and never ran the ball.

He was a nepo-baby hire!! Only got the job because of his dad!

I remember so many criticizing McVay's playcalling too...calling it "predictable" and "pass happy"

 

[HOF44]

I wonder where we would rank without QB runs. We have to many of those dialed up.

 

[Boone]

Fair question … but keep in mind there are numerous dual threat QBs in the league who add to rushing numbers.

 

[method man]

I have a feeling if we lose Kingsbury we will regret it like we did losing Kyle Shannahan, Sean McVay, Kevin O'Connell, and Greg Lefleur. Hell, I remember groupthink wanting to run Kyle out of town because he was too pass happy and never ran the ball. It's deja vu all over again. Now, I agree that Kingsbury needs to think about how to protect his QB better and I'd like to see more runs (though I think we rank 9th in rushing attempts which isn't bad considering how quickly his defenses put him in a deep hole) but...

Kliff has been making lemonade all season.

Yep. The best OC candidates will not want to join the DQ staff in year 3 of his tenure, knowing it may be the final year of it

 

[Ashburn Dave]

He was a nepo-baby hire!! Only got the job because of his dad!

I remember so many criticizing McVay's playcalling too...calling it "predictable" and "pass happy"

Being a nepo hire doesn't bother me as long as he's worthy. A lot of famous folks were nepo's.

 

[Faithful Fan]

I have a feeling if we lose Kingsbury we will regret it like we did losing Kyle Shannahan, Sean McVay, Kevin O'Connell, and Greg Lefleur. Hell, I remember groupthink wanting to run Kyle out of town because he was too pass happy and never ran the ball. It's deja vu all over again. Now, I agree that Kingsbury needs to think about how to protect his QB better and I'd like to see more runs (though I think we rank 9th in rushing attempts which isn't bad considering how quickly his defenses put him in a deep hole) but...

Kliff has been making lemonade all season.

You mean Matt LaFleur, but yes, losing Shanny’s offensive staff was a very bad decision by horrible leadership, and I also remember fans cheering it on.

I don’t know if it’s the same situation with Kliff, but he has done okay given the circumstances, injuries especially. In general I think we need to be patient with this staff by giving them a chance to turn things around next year, they earned that much last year.

I do have some quibbles with Kliff. He calls too many quarterback runs, he should run the ball more in goal line situations, and he has a tendency to telegraph plays, as in always running the ball when the quarterback is under center.

We should still keep him though. His offense fits Jayden’s game and it is good for the young quarterback to have consistency.

 

[RWJ]

You mean Matt LaFleur, but yes, losing Shanny’s offensive staff was a very bad decision by horrible leadership, and I also remember fans cheering it on.

I don’t know if it’s the same situation with Kliff, but he has done okay given the circumstances, injuries especially. In general I think we need to be patient with this staff by giving them a chance to turn things around next year, they earned that much last year.

I do have some quibbles with Kliff. He calls too many quarterback runs, he should run the ball more in goal line situations, and he has a tendency to telegraph plays, as in always running the ball when the quarterback is under center.

We should still keep him though. His offense fits Jayden’s game and it is good for the young quarterback to have consistency.

Seems to me that Bruce Allen pulled rank over Shanahan and Mike became a Yes man afterwards. Allen got into Dan Synder's head and took over as RG3, I think was forced on Shanahan as the darling QB after Luck was taken #1 overall.

Kliff's track record overall speaks for itself. Up and down without stability.

 

[Die Hard]

The better question is do we promote Kingsbury to HC before he's hired elsewhere?

Is he HC worthy?

 

[Die Hard]

Kliff’s playcalling and design are absolutely infuriating to me. So many bad decisions.

Why would you run JJ on a QB designed run? The man’s 40 years old… he’s already your 3rd string QB… had 2 opportunities to run prior on scrambles with open field and only mustered 5 yards each time because he’s ancient. What’s your thinking there coach?

Why run a designed reverse with Bill pitching to Burks? Burks hasnt shown any burst or separation since coming here. He makes contested catches at best. He’s not the guy that should’ve gotten the ball on that play.

Running Croskey-Merrit up the middle 2 straight times on the first goal line stand when he was averaging 2 yards at best per carrry. That’s not what his body and skills are designed to do. That’s where you run McNichols or Johnson on a keeper.

As the wise Shoresy says repeatedly, “So dumb.”

 

[DieselPwr44]

I believe the Burks play was a designed pass that wasn't there. And from what the beat reporters were saying, the coach saw Burks throwing in pregame warmups and decided they needed to run that.

Like you said: dumb

 

[Die Hard]

I believe the Burks play was a designed pass that wasn't there. And from what the beat reporters were saying, the coach saw Burks throwing in pregame warmups and decided they needed to run that.

Like you said: dumb

I remember that now that you mention it… guys in the broadcast booth talking about seeing him throw it 45 yards in pre-game.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Watching the game yesterday, it got me to thinking.... I wonder if Kliff doesn't get as meticulous schematically with Jayden, as he has with Mariota / Johnson? Scheme wise, he called a pretty good game for Johnson. Last week wasn't great, but that scheme was developed for Mariota. I wonder if he's not as in depth when he's writing the scheme for Jayden because Jayden is 'that good'. Maybe he isn't game planning AS DEEP as he does for the other two guys, because he feels like he needs to overcome some short comings with them?

 

[Conn]

Watching the game yesterday, it got me to thinking.... I wonder if Kliff doesn't get as meticulous schematically with Jayden, as he has with Mariota / Johnson? Scheme wise, he called a pretty good game for Johnson. Last week wasn't great, but that scheme was developed for Mariota. I wonder if he's not as in depth when he's writing the scheme for Jayden because Jayden is 'that good'. Maybe he isn't game planning AS DEEP as he does for the other two guys, because he feels like he needs to overcome some short comings with them?

Nah. Plenty of faults for Kliff but I don’t think he’s cranking the effort up and down depending on who is playing. He’s a noted workaholic. I just don’t think he’s as good all the time as he is when he peaks. Which doesn’t happen as often as you’d like. He has flashes of brilliance but he has to work really hard for it. He’s very try-hard and it’s gotten him very far but I don’t think he has the instincts or intuition serving him to be among the best. Some guys just have it and some don’t. Some guys are streaky and more vulnerable to being figured out. That’s Kliff imo.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Nah. Plenty of faults for Kliff but I don’t think he’s cranking the effort up and down depending on who is playing. He’s a noted workaholic. I just don’t think he’s as good all the time as he is when he peaks. Which doesn’t happen as often as you’d like. He has flashes of brilliance but he has to work really hard for it. He’s very try-hard and it’s gotten him very far but I don’t think he has the instincts or intuition serving him to be among the best. Some guys just have it and some don’t. Some guys are streaky and more vulnerable to being figured out. That’s Kliff imo.

I don't think it's an effort thing... i just wonder if when JJ is on the field, he's got a different approach. I think there is a level of "if it's not there, Jayden has the legs" at times, even if it's not a conscious determination. The kind of thing if you're talking about other positions like having an All Pro LT. You don't scheme up the RB / TE 'help' as often or frequently, because the belief is they won't 'need' the help..

 

[Die Hard]

Watching the game yesterday, it got me to thinking.... I wonder if Kliff doesn't get as meticulous schematically with Jayden, as he has with Mariota / Johnson? Scheme wise, he called a pretty good game for Johnson. Last week wasn't great, but that scheme was developed for Mariota. I wonder if he's not as in depth when he's writing the scheme for Jayden because Jayden is 'that good'. Maybe he isn't game planning AS DEEP as he does for the other two guys, because he feels like he needs to overcome some short comings with them?

He schemed up a great plan against one of the better pash rush defenses in the league (Broncos) and then craps the bed and changes the game plan the following week against another complex blitzing defense (Vikings).

As Conn said, KK is inconsistent.

One of the reasons the team loves Mary-Ota… is that KK feels like he doesn’t have to change the playbook - similar styles - or even condense it - because he’s a veteran.

I feel like they feel the same way about Johnson (style)… but they have to condense the playbook to what he knows - doesn’t get a lot of reps and only joined this year - and what he does best - because he’s physically limited and skill limitations.

Johnson made a lot of bad decisions (covered receivers) and throws (late) yesterday. He was very fortunate enough were positive plays. And he avoided the boneheaded INT. His pass attempts were low. But he was serviceable… which is what I thought he could be…. but har serious doubts after pre-season and last week.