Kingsbury worried about job security during 1st game with Cardinals

Kliff Kingsbury's first season with the Arizona Cardinals could certainly be viewed as a success, but the head coach didn't kick off his tenure with much confidence.

With his team down 17-3 at halftime during its Week 1 contest against the Detroit Lions, Kingsbury believed his job was on the line during his first game in charge.

"I'm not exaggerating, I was thinking, 'I can't believe I just bought that house. I'm gonna be here two games and they're gonna fire me,'" he said during a Tuesday appearance on "The Ryen Russillo Podcast." "Cause it was as bad as I'd ever seen. I mean, we couldn't get a yard, we couldn't complete a pass ... That was about the highest anxiety I've ever had on the sidelines. Truly anything we tried to do was a complete disaster."

He added: "That was a rough 30 minutes and I just kept thinking about poor (general manager) Steve (Keim) up there in the press box with the owner, probably just wanted to jump off the balcony. But luckily it worked out."

Arizona and Detroit ended up tying the contest 27-27. Behind a fresh offense, Kingsbury led a 3-13 Cardinals team that selected first overall at the 2019 NFL Draft to a 5-10-1 record this past season.