After spending five years wth the New York Giants, Justin Pugh signed a five-year deal in Arizona, four of those years under then-Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury. So what insight does the offensive guard have of the Washington Commanders' new offensive coordinator: "He gets guys open."
"He is one of the best guys [at] creating space for his players," Pugh tells Craig Hoffman from Radio Row at Super Bowl LVIII. "The thing about Kliff and going to Washington, it just reminds me of what happened in going to Arizona where he comes in, we have Josh Rosen, we don't know if we're gonna go quarterback [at No. 1 in the 2019 NFL Draft] and then we go Kyler Murray.
"It's just eerily similar that [Kingsbury] goes to Washington, they have the No. 2 overall pick. Is there something in the works here where Caleb Williams ends up in Washington?"
Pugh added: "The one thing I know is that you will have your talented receivers running wide open because that's what Kliff Kingsbury does."
The guard – who the Giants signed straight off the couch during their rough 2023 season – said that Kingsbury's run scheme will be great for the Commanders' o-line.
"I love [his scheme] and it fits my skillet, we're on the line, we're going fast, we're running zone schemes. It's gonna be great for the offensive linemen that you guys have," Pugh said. "Maybe I'm down in Washington? Maybe Klff gives his old left guard a call?"
Pugh added that Kingsbury always focused on the run-game to open up the pass, that "he clearly learned" from what he did in Arizona and Washington has the pieces to make it work.
Hoffman and Pugh – a couple of Syracuse guys cutting it up – talk about their old school and more about Kingsbury's demeanor and his personality as a coach. Listen on the audio player above.
