Kliff Kingsbury fired as Cardinals coach, GM Steve Keim steps down

The Kliff Kingsbury and Steve Keim era is over in Arizona.

The Cardinals fired Kingsbury as their head coach on Monday, less than 12 months after he signed a multi-year extension with the team. Kingsbury was 28-37-1 in his four seasons at the helm in Arizona.

Additionally, the team announced general manager Steve Keim would be stepping down from his position to focus on his health. Keim had held the role of GM since 2013.

Kingsbury, the former head coach at Texas Tech University, arrived in Arizona in January 2019. Although the Cardinals had a solid season in 2021, reaching the wild-card round of the playoffs, they stumbled out of the gate this year and finished the season at 4-13.

Leading up to Sunday’s season finale in San Francisco, in which the 49ers blew out the Cardinals, 38-13, speculation mounted that Kingsbury could be on his way out.

In December, Kingsbury addressed rumors that he was “miserable” amid a challenging season. He was asked about a pointed ESPN article, which speculated if his relationship with quarterback Kyler Murray has soured, and if he was considering walking away.

“No, I haven’t seen that,” Kingsbury said, per The Arizona Republic. “But no.”

The Cardinals released a statement to their social media accounts on Monday morning:

“We have announced that head coach Kliff Kingsbury has been relieved of his duties,” the statement read. “In addition, General Manager Steve Keim has decided to step away from his position in order to focus on his health. The team wishes them well and thanks both of them for their contributions.”