The Arizona Cardinals have most of their coaching staff assembled for the 2019 season. Some of the hires received unanimous support from the community, while others had some questioning Steve Keim and Michael Bidwill.

While giving grades for each coach, it’s solely based on today. These are the grades the team should get for these hires so far.

Kliff Kingsbury, HC

Even today, Kliff Kingsbury being named the head coach of the Cardinals two months removed from being fired by Texas Tech is crazy. This hire is one of the riskier decisions Michael Bidwill and Steve Keim have made in a while.

Kingsbury was brought in to develop Josh Rosen, as it was clear he couldn’t reach his potential under the 2018 squad. He also resembles the Sean McVay formula that other teams are following.

Kliff needed a veteran defensive coordinator. His offenses were consistently incredible at Texas Tech, but he was held back by his defense giving up loads of points. With a rookie head coach, it was important to surround him with veteran coaches. They have done that, making this hire very intriguing.

In terms of grading, this hire is the definition of boom or bust. I’m going to play it safe here, but I hope I’ll come back to this article and laugh at only giving Kliff a B.

Grade: B

Vance Joseph, DC

Joseph was brought in quickly by the Cardinals, likely due to other teams’ interest in him. Vance was fired from his head-coaching role in Denver after failing to reach the postseason.

Most feel this was a solid hire. Joseph’s defenses in Denver were very good, as Cardinals fans saw on display in the Broncos’ Thursday night drubbing of the Cardinals in 2018. His tenure in Miami as DC didn’t produce crazy numbers, unfortunately. Despite this, it was essential for the Cardinals to find a veteran defensive coordinator for Kliff Kingsbury. His head coaching experience will help Kliff and this coaching staff. He is well-respected in the league.

Maybe more important than all of that, Joseph will be running a 3-4 defense. This was the scheme used for years under Todd Bowles and James Bettcher. The Cardinals defense dropped from a top 10 rushing defense in the NFL in 2017 to dead last in ’18. Part of that came from the 4-3 defense switch under Steve Wilks and Al Holcomb. Joseph will look to bring the defense back to Arizona’s standards.

Grade: B

Tom Clements, QB Coach/Passing Game Coordinator

Clements will essentially serve as the team’s offensive coordinator, although the team won’t officially have one. He’s been coaching football since 1992, with his time in Green Bay being arguably the most appealing.

Under Clements in 2007, Brett Favre had statistically one of the best years of his career. Clements was also partly responsible for the development of Aaron Rodgers, which should excite Cardinals fans. His work in developing Green Bay’s passing game lead to Rodgers posting back-to-back 4000-yard seasons in his first two years starting. The Packers would win the Super Bowl with the help of Clements.

Perhaps equally impressive was his work with Matt Flynn. Late in the 2011 season, the Packers started backup QB Matt Flynn in place of an injured Aaron Rodgers. Clements was seen constantly working with Flynn on the sidelines, who was making just his second career start. That day, Flynn threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns.

Having a guy like Clements in the building is extremely important. His work and success in developing quarterbacks could be very beneficial to second-year quarterback Josh Rosen. Pairing a savvy veteran with Kliff Kingsbury is a smart move by the Cardinals.

Grade: A-

Sean Kugler, O-Line Coach

Kugler was let go by the Broncos after they looked towards a new coaching staff. Denver had a struggling offensive line at times, but the team dealt with tons of injuries that made it very difficult to be consistent.

The offensive line coach was one of the most important hires for Kliff Kingsbury. He’ll need great play up-front to help Josh Rosen thrive in year two. Kugler is a solid hire and he can do well if Steve Keim spends the necessary resources on the offensive line. He will also benefit from Kingsbury’s Air-Raid offense. Hopefully, the two will be paired together for a long time.

Maybe the most telling fact about Kugler is the significant interest from teams around the NFL. Per Ian Rapoport, the Buccanneers, Bills, Browns, and Jets were all trying to sign Kugler. We don’t know why he chose Arizona out of the five teams, but this is certainly a good sign considering the high demand for his services across the league.

Grade: B

James Saxon, RB coach

This is an incredible hire for the Cardinals. Arguably the biggest concern with Kliff Kingsbury was his ability to assemble a quality coaching staff. They hit a home run with James Saxon, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Saxon coached Le’Veon Bell and James Conner in Pittsburgh. Conner was coming off season-ending knee surgery and was thrown into the fire when Bell chose not to report to the Steelers in week 1. He ended up with 973 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, earning a Pro-Bowl nod.

Per Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Network, the Steelers averaged 132 yards a game last year. However, the big stat is the Pro-Bowl appearances for running backs under Saxon.

In 19 years coaching in the league, his running backs and fullbacks were selected 14 times to the Pro Bowl.

Unreal.

That should be music to the ears of the Cardinals, as former All-Pro David Johnson struggled in 2018 due to poor offensive line play and predictable play-calling. Pairing Johnson with Saxon could do wonders for the Cards.

In his career, Saxon has coached Adrian Peterson, Le’Veon Bell, James Conner, Ricky Williams, Larry Johnson, Priest Holmes, and Ronnie Brown. He’ll now be paired with David Johnson.

Grade: A+

It’s also worth noting that many criticized the Kingsbury hire, for they felt there was no way a fired college coach could assemble a quality coaching staff. Before that, many said the Cardinals would struggle to get a head coach early since the job was terrible in their eyes.

Kliff Kingsbury chose the Cardinals over the Jets. Vance Joseph chose Arizona over the Jets and Browns. Sean Kugler chose the Cardinals over four other NFL teams.

This is a very good sign.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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