Connected to both the Ravens and Titans this week, Kliff Kingsbury now has a path to interviewing with both teams. Each sent out a request to the newly available coach, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports.
The Titans were believed to be in on Kingsbury before his Commanders exit, making it all the more unusual Washington let him go. The Ravens came up as a potentially interested party shortly after firing John Harbaugh. This market did not initially have much in terms of offense-oriented talent, but some changes have shaken things up a bit.
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Although Harbaugh is the top prize, the Browns and Dolphins respectively firing Kevin Stefanski and Mike McDaniel adds two more experienced play-callers for teams to study. Kingsbury received extensive interest last year, and even though the Commanders’ season tanked thanks largely to Jayden Daniels‘ three-injury year, the two-year Washington play-caller is a notable name to watch now that he’s free to meet with teams without restrictions.
The Ravens certainly have an interesting position to offer based on Lamar Jackson‘s status. Kingsbury has done quite well with dual-threat quarterbacks, overseeing both Kyler Murray Pro Bowl years before being at the controls for Daniels’ Offensive Rookie of the Year slate that produced Washington’s first NFC championship game berth since 1991. In between, Kingsbury coached Caleb Williams during his final USC season. The Ravens are searching for someone to maximize Jackson, with team brass pushing Harbaugh to move on from OC Todd Monken despite the QB’s back-to-back first-team All-Pro appearances on the play-caller’s watch.
The Titans have been preparing for a full-on overhaul for months, firing Brian Callahan in October. A host of candidates are on Tennessee’s radar in what is shaping up as a thorough search. The team has yoyoed between offensive and defensive coaches lately, going from Mike Mularkey to Mike Vrabel to Callahan. It certainly appears Titans ownership made a mistake in firing Vrabel, a Coach of the Year frontrunner. But a new voice is running this search; now holding roster control, Mike Borgonzi is at the controls of the latest Tennessee HC hunt.
Kingsbury, 46, can interview in-person at any point moving forward. These are his first two interview summons on this year’s carousel. His stock high after Daniels’ breakthrough season, Kingsbury opted not to take any interviews in 2025. He preferred to stay in Washington and mentor Daniels, but disagreements between he and GM Adam Peters — among some overarching concerns about front office-coaching staff friction — helped lead him out of town with one season left on his contract. The former four-year Cardinals HC will be a strong candidate, like McDaniel, for OC positions. But with offensive play-callers still the gems of the coaching market, opportunities to land a second-chance HC job first have come up.