Initial thoughts on Kliff Kingsbury bolting from Raiders’ job

A stunning development

A major bombshell hit the Las Vegas Raiders’ offseason team building search as Kliff Kingsbury suddenly and shockingly withdrew from the offensive coordinator position after agreeing Thursday:

Bad look for everyone:

This reflects poorly on everyone involved, including Kingsbury, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce and the organization as a whole. Both sides thought everything was a formality, yet contract talks fell apart at the 11th hour. Now, ESPN is reporting Kingsbury is a candidate to end up as the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders. It’s an ugly scene. Now, it’s nothing that the Raiders can’t bounce back from, but it’s a tough start for Pierce because this is the most important hire to his staff and it’s obvious he’s not getting his first choice. Will he even get his second choice? Again, the Raiders can bounce back from this, but it’s just an unfortunate situation to start Pierce’s tenure.

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

What’s next:

The other known candidates when the Raiders agreed with Kingsbury were former Chicago offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, Pittsburgh assistant Mike Sullivan, UCLA head coach Chip Kelly and Tampa Bay assistant Thad Lewis, although he reportedly hasn’t interviewed. ESPN reported the Raiders also talked to Washington’s Eric Bieniemy and Pep Hamilton. The Raiders also talked to former Raiders’ head coach Hue Jackson, but that may be for a position job. They also reportedly had interest in San Francisco’s Klint Kubiak, but he’s reportedly set to become the New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator after the Super Bowl. I’d expect Pierce will try to get this wrapped up as soon as possible to try to move on from the embarrassing Kingsbury mess. This is just a hunch, but the favorites may be Kelly at Getsy.

Everything is on hold for now:

The “Air Raid Offense” has been grounded before it even began. The past two days have been filled with Raiders’ fans fantasizing about Kingsbury, who spent the 2023 season with USC, reuniting with Caleb Williams in Las Vegas and the Raiders enjoying a high-flying offense. Now, that dream is over. We shall know the direction of the offense (and what quarterbacks fit) soon enough. But for now, we wait. What’s a turn of events.

Shades of Joshy boy:

It’s more than ironic that the Raiders fell victim to a Josh McDaniels’ move by the very coach who was hired to officially transition from McDaniels’ tenure. McDaniels, fired in October after 25 games on the job in Las Vegas, bolted from the Indianapolis Colts in 2018 after agreeing to be their head coach. Now, Kingsbury pulled the dirty trick on the Raiders. What a league.