TEMPE, Ariz. USA (AP) – Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury, quarterbacks coach Cam Turner and defensive tackle Zach Allen will miss Sunday’s game in Cleveland after testing positive for COVID-19.
The news adds to problems with the virus for the only undefeated team in the NFL, which also had to put star linebacker Chandler Jones on the COVID-19 list on Tuesday.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who has experience as a head coach in Denver, and assistant coach / special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers will share responsibilities as head of the Cardinals, who are 5-0 for the first time since 1974.
Other offensive responsibilities will be assumed by different members of the offensive staff, the team said Friday.
Kingsbury commented in the week that the team has been 100% vaccinated for a long time, which did not prevent the virus from altering the team’s plans.
“That’s the way it is,” Kingsbury said Wednesday, the day after Jones was placed on the list. The coach added that Jones had had symptoms.
The coach, who is in his third year with the team, was available to the media as he usually does on Fridays at the Arizona facilities, several hours before the news that he had tested positive in a proof.
The Cardinals should be in good hands with Joseph and Rodgers. Joseph was the head coach of the Broncos in 2017 and 2018 and has helped steadily improve the playing style of the Arizona defense. The team may miss the offensive calls from Kingsbury, who has been some of the most creative since coming to the NFL.
Allen – a three-year league veteran – is a key player in the Cardinals’ defense and got a sack last week in a win over the 49ers. Jones was the NFC Defender of the Week after a five-sack performance in opening week against the Tennessee Titans.
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