Did Cardinals have tense meeting with Kliff Kingsbury after late-season collapse?
The Arizona Cardinals started off as one of the hottest teams in the NFL before melting down at the end of the season. That late-season meltdown is a source of frustration for the team, and a report says it even led to some tension in a postseason meeting.
Kyle Odegard, who writes for a sports betting website and is not known for reporting scoops, said on Twitter Thursday that “there was a tense meeting involving Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill, GM Steve Keim and coach Kliff Kingsbury” on Wednesday.
Odegard reported that Bidwell was unhappy with the Cardinals’ late-season slide and “intimated changes were possible.”
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, a much more accomplished reporter, shot down the report and said there was no meeting.
There has been no meeting, sources say. https://t.co/Geq0kBetbm
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 20, 2022
Meeting or not, nobody in Cardinals land is satisfied with how their season ended. They went from 7-0 and 10-2 to losing five of their six games (including the playoffs). Just look at what JJ Watt said after the game and you’ll see the feeling of disappointment is pervasive.
The late-season struggles are nothing new for Kingsbury too.
Kliff Kingsbury's end to the season as a head coach…
Texas Tech:
• '13: lost 5 of 6
• '14: lost 4 of 6
• '15: lost 4 of 6
• '16: lost 6 of 8
• '17: lost 6 of 8
• '18: lost 5 of 5Cardinals:
• '19: lost 7 of 9
• '20: lost 5 of 7
• ‘21: lost 5 of 6 pic.twitter.com/t7e0C1rWC7— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) January 18, 2022
Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports