Kent Somers | The Republic | azcentral.com

The Cardinals on Tuesday named Kliff McVay to be their next head coach.

Or is it Sean Kingsbury?

I can’t keep these up-and-coming, out-of-the-box coaches straight, other than they demand to be described with compound adjectives.

From the beginning of their search, which started a week ago, the Cardinals were intent on hiring an offensive coach, preferably a young one in the mold of Rams coach Sean McVay. Tutoring quarterback Josh Rosen apparently was a priority.

On Tuesday, the Cardinals made it official, hiring former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury, who, like McVay, is a young, innovative coach who may or may not use as much hair product. He will be introduced at a news conference on Wednesday.

On Monday, Kingsbury interviewed with the Jets, so the Cardinals weren’t the only NFL team intrigued by him.

The interest of the NFL in Kingsbury was so surprising that even Kingsbury apparently was caught off guard. If he knew NFL teams would come calling, then why would he have accepted a job as USC's offensive coordinator last month?

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Photos: Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury

It's a bold move by the Cardinals. And a bad one. Kingsbury has never coached in the NFL, and the list of coaches with no pro experience who successfully transitioned from college to the NFL is short.

Former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and Texans coach Bill O’Brien were assistants in the NFL before leaving for college jobs and then back to the pros.

Steve Spurrier was a colossal failure with Washington, and Chip Kelly had two good years with the Eagles before getting fired after the 2015 season. He was snapped up by the 49ers, who fired him after one season.

As I wrote last month, NFL owners generally aren’t free thinkers, so they try to copy the success of others. And young, offensive-minded coaches have had success in the last two years, most notably McVay and Matt Nagy of the Bears.

VOTE: What kind of head coach hire would Kliff Kingsbury be for the Arizona Cardinals? (Latest news: https://t.co/qH1yBhuXad Speculation: https://t.co/E6xtnbkZHX) — azcentral sports (@azcsports) January 8, 2019

But Kingsbury doesn’t have the background of those two. McVay, 32, is the grandson of John McVay, the former general manager of the 49ers, and was an assistant in the NFL for nine years before the Rams hired him.

Nagy, 40, had been an assistant in the NFL since 2008.

Kingsbury’s only NFL experience is the short time he spent as a backup quarterback with the Patriots, Saints and Jets.

As a coach, he has reputation as an offensive innovator and the list of quarterbacks he’s tutored includes Case Keenum, Johnny Manziel, Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield and Davis Webb.

But as a head coach, Kingsbury's record was less than stellar: 35-40 overall including losing records the last three years, and a 19-35 overall record in the Big 12. No, Lubbock isn't the easiest place to recruit to. But Kingsbury's predecessor, Mike Leach, went 84-43 there.

To be a success in the NFL, Kingsbury's going to need considerable help, especially in assembling a staff.

His downfall at Texas Tech was defense, so the Cardinals need to make an equally bold hire at defensive coordinator.

And if you’re a defensive coach with options, such as Todd Bowles or Chuck Pagano, what’s attractive about the Cardinals?

Working with a head coach with no NFL experience?

Working for a team with a general manager, Steve Keim, who was partly responsible for this season’s 3-13 record?

For a team president, Michael Bidwill, who is involved in nearly every football decision?

There's a chance it could work. Kingsbury could inject life into a Cardinals offense that's been bypassed by the ongoing renaissance in the NFL. He could lure a proven defensive coordinator, as McVay was able to do with Wade Phillips. Keim could revert to the general manager he was from 2013 through 2015, when the phrase "Keim time" was meant as a compliment.

But that's a lot of wishes that have to come true.

There’s no question Kingsbury is an out-of-the-box hire. But that doesn’t mean it's a wise choice.

Good things come in boxes, including new shoes, Christmas presents and coaches with NFL experience.

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