Some may have gotten a chuckle out of the notion that former Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury plans to live it up in Thailand or wherever on Michael Bidwill’s money, while also ignoring opportunities to go to work for another team as an offensive coordinator. Bidwill may be laughing for a different reason.
The buyout that a coach gets when fired without cause usually has a significant string attached. Specifically, the coach can’t just sit back and collect the cash he would have earned without trying to earn some cash elsewhere. There’s an obligation to seek and accept alternative employment.
The ultimate question becomes the wording of the contract. But other coaching contracts include phrases like this: “Coach shall have the affirmative obligation to seek employment after such involuntary termination.”
So maybe Kliff should be a little more discreet when boasting about his plans. It’s one thing for Bidwill to chase Kingsbury around to ensure that he’s fulfilling his obligation to seek other work, that he’s trying his best to reduce his buyout by getting hired to coach somewhere else. It’s quite another if Kingsbury is flaunting the fact that he’ll get paid millions by Bidwill to do nothing.
Which, based on yesterday’s reporting, he seems to be doing.