Kliff. Are you breaking up with me?

[SkinsNumberOne]

That’s fine but not entirely accurate. Al Galdi has expressed a ton of concern over them moving on from KK and I think some concern is warranted. Sure - teams make staff changes but ditching both coordinators after just 2 seasons of a rebuild - does not represent success. It’s one coach shy of a complete purge.

From a simple, plain, analytical standpoint -
1) no, getting rid of both coordinators just 2 seasons after hiring ("rebuild" is irrelevant, they were both hired 2 seasons ago and now are apparently not desired to be kept around)... it isn't good. Emotionlessly, though (analytically):
a) we can assume (giving HC benefit of the doubt), there were good reasons to be let go
b) still, even with (a), that means the hiring of them was a problem. We all make mistakes in hiring, but this is a "managing HC" - he hires coordinators and lets them work, that's his goal. Yes he keeps tabs, and especially on player morale and the high level issues, but largely he lets them work. So hiring is absolutely KEY, and he is 0 for 2. That's a big concern. Still - it's not his first rodeo. He has hired before, and I think he is considered to have done well before. I also think here, Whitt and KK were considered good picks by most. It didn't work out. So... I guess that makes some sense.
c) He must have a good relationship with AP, and Harris must not hate him (or just lets AP decide). I think when you have 2 coordinators let go in this way, this must be true.
2) Given all of this, I think it's reasonable to say that he needs to be very careful in his hiring this cycle. I also think he'd be crazy not to get some input. I don't know what his process is exactly, but I can say from watching the pressers, seeing how he talks in general... I can't say I am impressed with his personal processes. I think if his personal processes were top notch, I think our defense would have been better this year. I am not so sure we can fully hate on him for the 2 coordinator firings, because I think both were considered good hiring - but my biggest issue there is he had issues with KK on things that EVERYONE knew KK DIDN'T tend to DO!!!! So... why hire him? That is a red flag if I'm AP. Which I'm not.

Yes there should definitely be some concern with 2 coordinators being fired, but I think the simple issue now is, can DQ hire good coordinators and set us up for success? I think one of the biggest data points is not just looking at these two hires, but also his past hires. I don't think DQ makes the same mistake this time around. I think he knows where he went wrong.

I'm not a big DQ fan (at all), but that's where my head is at for now.

 

[DWinzit]

Not a single team has contacted Kliff to schedule a HC interview, as of yet. I wonder why the delay.

Not that we are aware of yet anyway. It is still early but may not get any. He will however get a lot of OC calls

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Not a single team has contacted Kliff to schedule a HC interview, as of yet. I wonder why the delay.

A lot of people are hitting "Redial" on the busy tone for Harbaugh?

Kliff will get calls. My only question is, how much will he try to burn this organization on his way out? The main reason I think Kliff may do more than Whitt is because I think Whitt didn't perform well and everyone knows it. I think Kliff has an easy argument on "they made a mistake" and I think he will want that story told. Already we are heading some interesting leaks; just heard on radio that the FO here is over-involved in coordinators' work, which the radio guys were saying is likely one of the coordinators' agents stirring the pot. Too bad. We already know AP is generally above that nonsense (see exhibit A: McLaurin, Terry).

 

[Bulldog]

I don't care about Kliff, he is gone. Where he goes and what he does is of little import to me.

He doesn't have the standing of a Shanahan or other proven coach over time that carries weight with legitimate winners.

Kingsbury is this generations version of Mouse Davis and the run and shoot. Lots of press and splash but in the end not much in the way of putting objects in the trophy case.

From what I have seen to date, including his time in AZ, he's not really HC material in the NFL.

But it usually takes the NFL one or two operations of the washing machine and dryer to determine a particular coach isn't up to the role.

Look at Chip Kelly and some others on the junk pile.

 

[skinzplay]

It's a copycat league. We've seen it with the raid on Boy Wonder's staff in LA. Owners and GMs like that offense and Shanahan's offense too, of course. Kliff runs an offense that nobody has bothered to copy. There's a reason. I'm sure GMs will pick his brain, but I think his best shot will really be back in the college ranks, and I hope he finally finds success and is able to finally enjoy a winning record.

 

[Bulldog]

Yeah and given how the Raiders have performed the past 2 seasons the fact their braintrust wanted to hire him and we 'stole' him looks now like we did them at least in part a favor

 

[philibusters]

I know I already weighed in on the Kliff Kingsbury decision, but the more distance I get from it, the more it bothers me.

By any fair reading, Kingsbury did a very good job here. I’d call 2024 an A and 2025 an A-. Yes, the offense finished 22nd in scoring at 20.9 points per game, but that number is misleading if you stop there. Over the full 2025 season, Washington’s offense graded out better by efficiency than by raw scoring. On a per-play basis—success rate and EPA/play—the unit was closer to league average than bottom-quarter. That gap matters, because scoring totals are heavily influenced by game context, pace, and starting field position.

This was an offense that generally functioned. It moved the ball, stayed on schedule, and generated positive plays at a rate that doesn’t line up with the idea of a failed coordinator. And it did so while dealing with extreme instability—most notably losing its quarterback for a large chunk of the season. Fewer possessions and fewer short fields compress point totals, even when the underlying offense is sound.

Put differently: this didn’t look like a bad scheme being propped up by luck. It looked like a competent, well-structured offense operating under constraints.

That’s what makes this hard for me to reconcile.

Beyond the numbers, I admired Kingsbury’s approach. The grind. The independence. The fact that he wasn’t chasing league fashion or social approval. Players clearly respected him. He brought coherence and identity to an offense that has spent most of the last decade drifting.

I like Dan Quinn. I like Adam Peters. I believe both are good at what they do and good for the organization. This isn’t a shot at them as people or leaders. But I genuinely struggle to understand the logic of moving on from a coordinator who produced solid results, by both traditional and advanced measures, under difficult conditions.

Maybe this is just me being old-fashioned. But loyalty matters. Effort matters. Results—properly contextualized—matter. Kingsbury put everything into the job and delivered real value. And when I ask myself why he’s gone, I still don’t have an answer that makes football sense. I feel like I did something wrong or immoral because I feel like the organization wronged Kingsbury.

I love the Washington Commanders. I believe in where they’re headed. But this one stings—not because change is hard, but because this change feels undeserved.

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

At the end of the day, none of us really know what took place. It’s very likely the leak on dysfunction was from Kliff’s folks. Really makes no sense to come from anywhere else. There is likely truth in it as well but we’ll never really know.

For me this is less about Kliff, and more about the fact that he GM and head coach are cleaning house, 2 years into the regime.

I will not in any way be surprised if this whole thing goes sideways and we end up with 2 meh coordinators, miss the playoffs and start all the way over again in 2027.

That said, on the optimistic side - these are very bold moves. It’s easy to stick with what’s comfortable. Bold moves aren’t always bad.

 

[Conn]

I know I already weighed in on the Kliff Kingsbury decision, but the more distance I get from it, the more it bothers me.

By any fair reading, Kingsbury did a very good job here. I’d call 2024 an A and 2025 an A-. Yes, the offense finished 22nd in scoring at 20.9 points per game, but that number is misleading if you stop there. Over the full 2025 season, Washington’s offense graded out better by efficiency than by raw scoring. On a per-play basis—success rate and EPA/play—the unit was closer to league average than bottom-quarter. That gap matters, because scoring totals are heavily influenced by game context, pace, and starting field position.

This was an offense that generally functioned. It moved the ball, stayed on schedule, and generated positive plays at a rate that doesn’t line up with the idea of a failed coordinator. And it did so while dealing with extreme instability—most notably losing its quarterback for a large chunk of the season. Fewer possessions and fewer short fields compress point totals, even when the underlying offense is sound.

Put differently: this didn’t look like a bad scheme being propped up by luck. It looked like a competent, well-structured offense operating under constraints.

That’s what makes this hard for me to reconcile.

Beyond the numbers, I admired Kingsbury’s approach. The grind. The independence. The fact that he wasn’t chasing league fashion or social approval. Players clearly respected him. He brought coherence and identity to an offense that has spent most of the last decade drifting.

I like Dan Quinn. I like Adam Peters. I believe both are good at what they do and good for the organization. This isn’t a shot at them as people or leaders. But I genuinely struggle to understand the logic of moving on from a coordinator who produced solid results, by both traditional and advanced measures, under difficult conditions.

Maybe this is just me being old-fashioned. But loyalty matters. Effort matters. Results—properly contextualized—matter. Kingsbury put everything into the job and delivered real value. And when I ask myself why he’s gone, I still don’t have an answer that makes football sense. I feel like I did something wrong or immoral because I feel like the organization wronged Kingsbury.

I love the Washington Commanders. I believe in where they’re headed. But this one stings—not because change is hard, but because this change feels undeserved.

Even if everything you say is true (and I don’t agree with some of it, but I think it’s fairly argued and well-stated in support of Kliff) it’s still not hard to understand that a philosophical difference can lead to a divorce without someone being bad at their job, right? If that was the perception and disagreement between Quinn and Kliff after this season, which is what has been widely reported, it’s not really that crazy that they split. Call it a “no fault divorce”. I don’t think it was an indictment of what Kliff did here, or his work ethic, or anything like that: it’s the outcome of a disagreement between two experienced, opinionated people on how they wanted to conduct business on offense going forward. Their business relationship changed, it happens. In sports and the real world. Doesn’t mean it’s a moral or quality judgement necessarily, even if you think Kliff was great.

 

[RedWolf]

I think it was that AP and DQ wanted some changes to the Offense and KK didn't want to make those changes. This is my Offense and you guys told me I could run it how I wanted.

Something like below? 🤣

 

[Conn]

Lotta reports on teams lining up interviews. Not one report on Kliff actually getting a HC interview yet. Seems he’ll have to hope for a lateral move as OC somewhere. He’s extremely available, especially compared to these playoff playcallers, so I have to think his interviews would be trickling in already if he had real HC interest.

Backing up the theory that it was his people seeding the national media with that story (HC interest from various teams) over the last few weeks. Which backs up the theory that he was unhappy and knew his future wasn’t here regardless, and his agent tried to drum up a market that wasn’t (at best) a lateral move

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Lotta reports on teams lining up interviews. Not one report on Kliff actually getting a HC interview yet. Seems he’ll have to hope for a lateral move as OC somewhere. He’s extremely available, especially compared to these playoff playcallers, so I have to think his interviews would be trickling in already if he had real HC interest.

Backing up the theory that it was his people seeding the national media with that story (HC interest from various teams) over the last few weeks. Which backs up the theory that he was unhappy and knew his future wasn’t here regardless, and his agent tried to drum up a market that wasn’t (at best) a lateral move

I would be surprised if Kliff doesn't get one look at HC.

I am not moved by the weird reports or the comments by talking heads about Kliff.

I am looking at:
- the amount of HC vacancies (7)
- the amount of credentialed "offensive minded" coaches available (I am not sure on the exact number, but I think it's kind of small, maybe 2 or 3 at most?)
- the amount of generally highly touted coaches (1)

So those numbers, in totality, seem to favor him.

The counter to all of that is:
- how much do the available opportunities put a premium on the offensive coach (I think a lot of them may, but that is unclear)
- finally, what do any of them truly think of Kliff? This may be the rub. Some of us seem to not understand that there are some blemishes in his history as a head coach still, and relatively recent as well. Unclear how the available decision makers view it. As in any market, it's all about timing (the product being sold - Kliff as HC - and the buyer - the team/GM... if we don't have the right fit, that's it). In this case, with the numbers I showed above, it's a bit of an indictment on Kliff. Not too small of a pool in my opinion. However, it is still quite early.

 

[Conn]

I would be surprised if Kliff doesn't get one look at HC.

I am not moved by the weird reports or the comments by talking heads about Kliff.

I am looking at:
- the amount of HC vacancies (7)
- the amount of credentialed "offensive minded" coaches available (I am not sure on the exact number, but I think it's kind of small, maybe 2 or 3 at most?)
- the amount of generally highly touted coaches (1)

So those numbers, in totality, seem to favor him.

The counter to all of that is:
- how much do the available opportunities put a premium on the offensive coach (I think a lot of them may, but that is unclear)
- finally, what do any of them truly think of Kliff? This may be the rub. Some of us seem to not understand that there are some blemishes in his history as a head coach still, and relatively recent as well. Unclear how the available decision makers view it. As in any market, it's all about timing (the product being sold - Kliff as HC - and the buyer - the team/GM... if we don't have the right fit, that's it). In this case, with the numbers I showed above, it's a bit of an indictment on Kliff. Not too small of a pool in my opinion. However, it is still quite early.

You would think he’s got a good shot at interest, but am I only thinking that because of the stories his agent seems to have spread the last few weeks? Because lists of teams’ interviewees are going out, he’s available to meet immediately, and none of those lists so far include Kliff. Despite national reporters saying for weeks he would have interest.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

You would think he’s got a good shot at interest, but am I only thinking that because of the stories his agent seems to have spread the last few weeks? Because lists of teams’ interviewees are going out, he’s available to meet immediately, and none of those lists so far include Kliff. Despite national reporters saying for weeks he would have interest.

I thought he has a good shot because of what I wrote, but also I forgot one point, his 2024 and even 2025 with caveat performances. The "Team Kliff" guys have made valid points in their defenses of him against slander, and those points are pretty clear anyway. He does have some good stats.

It will be really interesting if he doesn't get any bites at the NFL level. I did think his 2025 would be weaker for sure (I did think he hurt his stock significantly) but I thought his stock was pretty high last year so even a big drop - with 7 vacancies? I thought he'd get 1-2 calls. No way did I expect 0. Frankly I still don't.

 

[Conn]

I thought he has a good shot because of what I wrote, but also I forgot one point, his 2024 and even 2025 with caveat performances. The "Team Kliff" guys have made valid points in their defenses of him against slander, and those points are pretty clear anyway. He does have some good stats.

It will be really interesting if he doesn't get any bites at the NFL level. I did think his 2025 would be weaker for sure (I did think he hurt his stock significantly) but I thought his stock was pretty high last year so even a big drop - with 7 vacancies? I thought he'd get 1-2 calls. No way did I expect 0. Frankly I still don't.

I didn’t think his stock was actually that high last year, because he’s technically never been a successful HC in college or the NFL and I sort of thought the league saw him as an OC. A QB-whisperer at best. So I never really bought that he was a super hot commodity, although I acknowledged at the time that I believed him when he said he didn’t have interest after 2024. It made sense and fit everything we knew about him at the time. So, it was tough to confirm whether he actually had many suitors he turned down or not.

Now he is supposed to be interested, is very available, and clearly has people around him who like to talk to the media. And not one leak of a potential HC interview being scheduled. It’s strange unless the interest was largely manufactured

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

And not one leak of a potential HC interview being scheduled. It’s strange unless the interest was largely manufactured

Definitely strange to me. Personally I think the "interest" was largely manufactured, but I still think in this HC cycle he gets at least 1 interview. Color me unimpressed with how a lot of the teams that are constantly interviewing coaches (for obvious reasons) handle their interview process and their selection process in many cases.

So, my money is on Kliff's resume being good enough for 1 interview, maybe 2 in this cycle. I think last year, if he was available as a candidate, his stock was definitely higher but I probably overstated how high in my previous post (for a HC position). Still, I think he didn't help his cause with what happened this year, caveats or not. Even "mutual separation" at the end doesn't help.

Still think given the way the league does things, and with 7 vacancies... I still guess we'd see him get an interview at minimum. I'd still be surprised if not, but you are right, hype may be warping my viewpoint because I definitely read a lot today.

By the way, I personally never liked him (as an OC or HC) or his scheme. I just thought the league liked him and his scheme - and liked it (in general) a fair amount. I wonder if 2025 hurt that too. Maybe he will go to college as skinzplay has said a few times.

 

[Conn]

Very possible. It’ll be interesting to watch play out. If he doesn’t like all the “extra” stuff that comes with being a HC, I can’t imagine he ever loved recruiting and it’s way worse now. The NIL stuff, the constant need to defend your recruits being stolen away through the portal even if they’re playing and starting for you and being paid well. He’d have to go work for one of the big programs that has a whole department running that stuff, and most of those schools already figured out their openings.

 

[Conn]

And there it is, he is in fact getting some interviews. That makes the whole situation a little less awkward

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

And there it is, he is in fact getting some interviews. That makes the whole situation a little less awkward

Rappaport says "already" there so I think we were impatient on this

That said... Ravens! Wow, if I'm Kliff, I am preparing for that one hardcore.
Titans... maybe go in cold? T-shirt and jeans? Pajamas? Haha.

 

[Conn]

Another person explicitly commenting on the speed of the requests. You begin to see the patterns in these things and how the announcements go out to national sources from agents with certain narratives to be pushed. Kliff’s agent wants to lean into the perception that he’s very wanted, it’s clear. Tons of other reports of interviews being lined up, no mention of speed like this. Twice now for Kliff in a matter of minutes. One minute apart between Rap and Schultz, in fact.