Los Angeles Rams assistant head coach Kliff Kingsbury is set to face his old team, the Washington Commanders, for the first time since his departure this offseason. Kingsbury, who was the Commanders' offensive coordinator, helped quarterback Jayden Daniels win 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year, while his offense played a big role in the team winning their first playoff game in 20 years and making the NFC Championship Game for the first time in over 30 seasons.
Kingsbury chose to remain with Washington after the 2024 season, but a major injury to Daniels derailed the team's 2025 ambitions, leading to their split. Kingsbury joined up with Sean McVay, whom he faced off against as Arizona Cardinals head coach many years ago, using his knowledge to improve Los Angeles' overall operation. McVay was asked about Kingsbury's impact this week.
“Kliff's been awesome," said McVay. "I think one of the things you can really appreciate is an understanding of all the different things that inevitably come up. Being a sounding board for me as an assistant head coach, but really as somebody that's been a head coach, been a play caller at a really high level, sees the game through the big picture, understands all parts of the game. Similar to what I was saying about Nate [Scheelhaase], just has a great awareness of how to deal with people.
"He's been a really good friend, but he's served as a great sounding board for me, added tremendous value to us, has a lot of input on some of the things that we're doing. I'm really grateful for who he is and you just realize what a special human, what a great football mind, but an even more impressive person being with him day in and day out. The consistency, the work capacity and ethic that he has, I've loved everything Kliff's about. He's a stud.”
McVay doubled down on Kingsbury's awesomeness when asked about how their relationship has grown since working together. McVay credits his assistant head coach for his steadiness as the team goes through an up-and-down start to the year.
“I just think like anything else, when you work with somebody and the amount of time that you spend – there have been a lot of unique challenges that this year has entailed for a variety of reasons and to have somebody that you can really lean on that's so steady, so consistent, but also is honest enough to be able to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear," said McVay. "It's only grown, and I think when you go through challenges or you do hard things with people, that's where real meaningful relationships are built and developed.
"That's why you care so much about these players and coaches when you get a chance to go on this journey because it's hard. It's out there front and center. You can't hide from some of the different things that occur and that's where those real bonds are forged. It's been really cool because I've learned a lot about him because of some of the challenges that we've gone through and how steady he's been for me and really for our group. He's been awesome.”
The Rams travel to Maryland this week, as they look to have their first winning record of the season. The Commanders are seeking their third win, which would put them in the midst of a tight race in the NFC East.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Sean McVay explains how Kliff Kingsbury has 'added tremendous value' to Rams