Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 10: Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury of the Washington Commanders looks on against the New York Jets in the first half of the preseason game against at MetLife Stadium on August 10, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Jets defeated the Commanders 20-17. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The Washington Commanders let one of the most talented offensive minds in all of football go when they shocked everyone and fired offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury after the season.

Kingsbury has been here before, however, and knows the path to getting back on top again might not be the path everyone else would take — which might explain his latest career move.

“Sources: Former Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury is joining the Rams offensive staff to work with Sean McVay,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on X on Friday. “Kingsbury and McVay are close and have previously discussed working together for a full season — and now it’s happening for the 2026 campaign. At this point in his career, Kingsbury wants to continue growing as a coach and learn more about what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL again — including all the inner workings of the job that people don’t get to see. There’s no better place to do that than in LA.”

Kingsbury spent 2 rollercoaster seasons with the Commanders, going 12-5 in the regular season and making the NFC Championship Game in 2024 followed by a 5-12 record and getting fired in 2025.

Both Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. were fired after the season and replaced with former NFL backup quarterback David Blough on offense and Daronte Jones on defense.

“Man (losing Kingbury) is tough,” Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels said on Thursday during an appearance on Radio Row at the Super Bowl. “Obviously I trust what the organization doing and it was tough, I have a relationship with him (Kliff), wish him nothing but the best but I’m also excited to get to work with Blough …”

The Rams made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game in 2025 before losing to the Seattle Seahawks and 37-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford announced he was returning in 2026 after winning NFL MVP at the NFL Honors on Thursday night.

Rams Just Lost OC to Kingsbury’s Old Job

While it’s great Kingsbury has found work again, there’s some question as to what his role will be with the Rams and why he wasn’t announced specifically as offensive coordinator.

Rams head coach Sean McVay saw his last offensive coordinator leave last week as Mike LaFleur was named the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals — a job Kingsbury held from 2019 to 2022.

“Kingsbury and McVay have been speaking over the last two weeks and there’s mutual excitement to finally get to work together,” ESPN’s Peter Schrager wrote on X. “When the Giants opted to hire Matt Nagy as OC, the path was cleared for Kingsbury to the Rams.”

“We have a lot of great coaches in house, but our job is to continuously build,” McVay said about replacing LaFleur last week. “It’s like putting together a team, your coaching staff. We’ve had a lot of reps at it for a lot of the right reasons. I am excited about diving in.”

Kingsbury did quite a few interviews after he was fired by the Commanders, including for head coaching positions with the Ravens, Bills and Titans — there were 10 head coach openings this offseason — and for the OC job with the Giants.

Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame

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