Cardinals GM: Rosen's development key factor in Kingsbury hire

The Arizona Cardinals surprised the NFL and hired Kliff Kingsbury as their head coach with the development of quarterback Josh Rosen a key concern.

"It is a quarterback-driven league," general manager Steve Keim acknowledged Wednesday during Kingsbury's introductory press conference. "The way he's developed a lot of young quarterbacks ... was certainly a plus."

Kingsbury joined Arizona just 34 days after taking the offensive coordinator job at USC. He was coming off a six-year stint as head coach at Texas Tech, where he compiled a 35-40 record.

Those underwhelming results didn't deter the Cardinals, who were determined to find an innovative offensive mind to push the franchise forward.

"Offense, overall, is the direction this league has gone," owner Michael Bidwill said.

In the desert, Kingsbury will be tasked with developing Rosen into Arizona's franchise quarterback. Last year's 10th overall pick had the worst passer rating in the NFL among qualifying quarterbacks in 2018, threw more interceptions than touchdowns, and was sacked 45 times.

"Josh Rosen is incredibly talented and one of the most talented throwers you'll see," said Kingsbury. "A young player that I'm excited to work with and develop. As a pure thrower, it's hard to find a guy that throws it better."

The 39-year-old coach worked with eventual NFL quarterbacks Case Keenum, Johnny Manziel, Baker Mayfield, Davis Webb, and Patrick Mahomes during his NCAA career. None of them came to him as a highly-ranked college recruit.

Kingsbury plans to hire an offensive coordinator but will call plays, while the Cardinals will go fishing for a veteran defensive coordinator to pair with their new head coach.

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