“They’re itching to get to those things.”
Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kinsgbury will be implementing some the tactics he learned at Texas Tech during his first year as an NFL coach, which he hopes will maximize their focus during meetings.
According to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, Kingsbury will allow players a 20 or 30 minutes “cellphone break” during team meetings, right around the time he typically witnesses players losing interest.
“They’re itching to get to those things,” Kingsbury said.
Kingsbury, who coached at Texas Tech for the last six seasons, knows all too well how young players are seemingly addicted to their phones.
“You start to see kind hands twitching and legs shaking, and you know they need to get that social media fix, so we’ll let them hop over there and then get back in the meeting and refocus,” Kingsbury said.
“I think coming from the college ranks to obviously, those young men, it’s got to be quick hitters, 20 minutes at a time, give them a break and get them back in,” he said. “We want to make sure that when we have them, they’re focused, and they’re locked in, and we’re maximizing their time.
“So if we’ve got to split it up or have shorter meetings, that’s what we do.”
The Cardinals finished with an NFL-worst 3-13 record last season before hiring Kingsbury. His first order business, other than figuring out how to handle the cellphone issue, is deciding what to do with the #1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
According to Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft, the Cards will be selecting Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray with the first pick on April 25.