The Arizona Cardinals made their first move since Kyler Murray and his agent released their manifesto on seeking a new contract, giving contract extensions to two prominent members of their franchise. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim received contract extensions through the 2027 season, the team announced Wednesday.
"The leadership of both Steve and Kliff have been key factors in the team's turnaround over the last three seasons," Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said, via the team's website. "We are all looking forward to continuing that progress and recognize these two individuals will be a big part of achieving our long-term goals as an organization."
Kingsbury has been with the franchise since the 2019 season, during which the Cardinals have improved their win totals each year. Arizona was 3-13 in the season prior to Kingsbury's arrival. Kingsbury then took the team to 5-10-1 in 2019, 8-8 in 2020, and 11-6 in 2021. Much of Kingsbury's success has been tied to Murray, who has completed 66.9% of his passes for 11,480 yards and 70 touchdowns to 34 interceptions in three seasons with the Cardinals, while rushing for 1,786 yards and 20 touchdowns. Murray and Cam Newton are the only players in NFL history with 10,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards after their first three seasons. He and Newton are also the only players with 10,000 passing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns after their first three seasons.
The Cardinals are 22-23-1 in Murray's 46 starts, as he is the only quarterback in league history with 70 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns after his first three seasons. Kingsbury's first draft pick in the NFL was Murray, who was selected No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Keim has been general manager of the Cardinals since the 2013 season, as Arizona has compiled a 76-67-2 record in his tenure. The Cardinals have four 10-win seasons under Keim's watch -- they had just six in franchise history (dating back to 1920) -- combined with three playoff appearances and a conference championship game appearance in 2015. The 13-3 record in 2015 is the Cardinals' franchise record for wins in a season. In the first five years of Keim's tenure, the Cardinals had 50 wins -- the most over a five-year stretch in team history.
Notable trades Keim has made in his tenure as general manager include acquiring Carson Palmer from Oakland in 2013, Chandler Jones from New England in 2016, DeAndre Hopkins from Houston in 2020 and Rodney Hudson from Las Vegas in 2021. This past offseason, Keim was instrumental in bringing in J.J. Watt, A.J. Green, Matt Prater, Malcolm Butler and James Conner in free agency -- all of whom were integral parts of the Cardinals improving their win total from eight to 11.
The next order for business for the Cardinals is to work out their situation with Murray. Giving Kingsbury and Keim contract extensions could be a good sign they'll look to resolve the issues sooner rather than later.