INDIANAPOLIS — Kliff Kingsbury spent just one season in New England and never appeared in a regular-season game as a Patriots quarterback. But that brief stint in Foxboro had a lasting effect on the recently hired Arizona Cardinals head coach.
Kingsbury, who takes over in Arizona after six seasons as head coach at Texas Tech, said Wednesday the lessons he learned as one of Tom Brady’s understudies in 2003 helped shape his football philosophy.
“No question,” Kingsbury said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Through my playing career and as a coach. When you’re around Bill (Belichick) and Tom and the way they operate, the level of preparation, the competitiveness at practice, those are all things that stay with you for life when you’ve been in that building.”
The Patriots won their second of six Super Bowls in Kingsbury’s rookie season, which he spent on injured reserve. The 39-year-old former quarterback, who was released the following summer, called New England “the mountaintop of preparation and competitiveness.”
“You can see why they win so much,” said Kingsbury, who said he received congratulatory texts from both Brady and Belichick after landing the Cardinals job last month.
During his time with the Red Raiders, Kingsbury frequently showed film of Brady to his quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes, the Texas Tech star-turned-NFL Most Valuable Player, recalled utilizing these film sessions to improve his pocket mobility.
Kingsbury said he’ll likely use Brady highlights to instruct his Cardinals signal-callers, as well — a group currently led by 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen.
“I’m sure we will,” he said. “The college kids really got excited about it, so I’m sure we’ll still find some clips to show.”
