Solomon Wilcots spent six seasons in the NFL and then the last 30 as a broadcaster and analyst, so he’s seen a lot of the evolution of football, and knows offense rules the day in most cases.
So it might disappoint you, Commanders fans, that Wilcots is NOT necessarily a fan of new Washington OC Kliff Kingsbury.
“I’m skeptical because I haven’t seen the track record,” Wilcots said of Kingsbury. “I have respect for Kliff Kingsbury, but look, man: I just need to see it. Show it to me.”
Grant had asked Wilcox if Kyle Shanahan needs to win Sunday to cement his legacy, because he’s considered an offensive genius but the fact that he can’t finish is a problem – and, well, his opponent says what’s up.
“I think the situation will continue, and those things will continue to be said about Kyle Shanahan, but I don't think it'll be on his tombstone just yet because he's so young,” Wilcots said. “I can give you the first 14 years of Andy Reid's career in Philly, those are the same things that were being said, but in the 11 years that he's been with the Kansas City Chiefs, nobody’s talking about that anymore. Think about this: coaches stay around longer than players, so if you pair him with a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes, or like his dad has in John Elway, do you think he could win a Super Bowl before it’s all said and done? I would say absolutely, because he's that good of a coach.”
And that led to G&D asking about the No. 2 pick in the draft, and whether or not the Commanders should think about packaging that pick and other assets to move up to No. 1 for Caleb Williams, who was with Kingsbury at USC…and that’s when we got the KK hate.
“Only if you feel that Williams is by far better than the other guys,” Wilcots said. “Here’s the key: Chicago, if they made that trade certainly, would feel like he's not, right, but we're not gonna rest on what Chicago has to say about it, because they haven't been really good in this area, right? They don't have a strong track record for telling the rest of the league what’s what. But if you’re Washington, and you have the No. 2 pick and you feel like he's your guy, and you feel like Kliff Kingsbury is gonna work his magic?”
And that’s when Wilcots launched into the quote above, saying that he has ‘not proven to be the quarterback whisperer’ many see him as.
“He hasn’t proven it – and if I’m wrong, tell me where we can point to, because it ain’t Kyler Murray,” Wilcots said. “I’ll give Kyler Murray for having talent, but that relationship imploded, did it not?”
Take a listen to Wilcots’ entire appearance with G&D above!