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TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury deflected a question about his interest in the University of Oklahoma job on Monday morning, a day after a report said the Sooners were targeting him for their vacant head coaching position, when he spoke to reporters on a Zoom call.
“I don’t get into those things,” Kingsbury said. “My sole focus the last couple weeks has been the Chicago Bears and, after watching them on Thanksgiving, it needs to be, because they’re a really good football team and had a big win, and so that’s where my focus has been.”
When asked why he didn’t just deny interest in the Sooners job, Kingsbury responded: “We’re in-season, we’re 9-2, Just not a topic I want to touch on right now.”
On Sunday afternoon, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that Oklahoma had targeted Kingsbury to replace Lincoln Riley as the Sooners’ next head football coach after Riley left for the head coaching job at Southern California.
Kingsbury said he was in his movie room “all day off the grid” on Sunday when the news broke about Oklahoma’s interest “so it didn’t affect me one bit.” He said he was watching game film and binging “Queen of the South.”
However, Kingsbury said he enjoys coaching in the NFL because of the “professionalism that these guys approach the game with each and every day,” as well as because pro players are “highly motivated, take care of their bodies, study the game. I mean, it inspires you to be a better coach. And step your game up because you better come in that meeting room knowing what you’re talking about with a level of expertise and trust from those guys or you’ll lose them.”
Kingsbury is 9-2 in his third season in Arizona and has the Cardinals sitting atop the NFC West and the entire NFC with the best record in football. Arizona has improved each season under Kingsbury. The Cards were 5-10-1 in Kingsbury’s first season and 8-8 last year.
Under Kingsbury, the Cardinals have become a top-10 offense three years after being…
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Source : espn
