The new deals tie the head coach and general manager to Arizona through the 2027 season.
TEMPE — The Arizona Cardinals they have signed the head coach Kliff Kingsbury and the general manager Steve Keim to contract extensions that will keep them linked to the team until 2027.
The move provides some security for the two men who helped lead the franchise to rapid improvement over the last three seasons, but who also faced a disappointing collapse this season after a 10-year start. 2 on the calendar.
“The leadership of both Steve like Kliff have been a key factor in the return of the team over the last three seasons”, said the owner of the Cardinals, Michael Bidwill, it’s a statement. “We’re looking at ways to track that progress and recognize that those two individuals will be a huge part of meeting our long-term goals as an organization.”
Support from Bidwill to his head coach and general manager comes during an offseason in which a surprising cold war has broken out between the young star quarterback Kyler Murray and the franchise. Passive-aggressive coping included Murray erasing all mention of the Cardinals on his social networks, and a letter to the club from the quarterback’s agent, Erik Burkhardtall caps, with the player demanding a long-term contract on Arizona.
Coincidentally, Burkhardt He is also the representative of Kingsbury.
Murray he is about to begin the fourth and final season of his rookie deal. It is expected that Cardinals make the option valid for the fifth year of the contract for 2023, but Murray seems to want a length to match that of other young passers, such as Josh Allen from Buffalowho signed a six-year, $254 million deal last offseason.
Nevertheless, Allen has won playoff games, while Murray he has not succeeded.
The Cardinals entered last season as one of the hottest teams in the NFL, with a record of 7-0, and later a mark of 10-2. But, Arizona lost four of their final five games and looked helpless in a 34-11 playoff loss to Los Angeles Rams. Murray he had one of his worst games as a pro in his postseason debut, completing 19 of 34 passes with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Kingsbury he was hired prior to the 2019 season largely because of his experience dealing with quarterbacks. Murraya winner of Heisman Trophy on Oklahoma, was selected first overall in the same offseason. The couple Kingsbury-Murray He has shown steady improvement, from 5-10-1 in 2019 to 8-8 in 2020 and 11-6 in 2021.
Keim is in his 23rd season with the Cardinalsand ninth as general manager, after being promoted to the position in 2013.
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