NFL coach Kliff Kingsbury to allow ‘cellphone breaks’ during team meetings

March 27, 2019 / CoachingFootball
A major challenge for coaches today is keeping athletes off of their devices. First-year Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury has decided he’s not going to fight it — he’s embracing it.

kliff kingsbury
Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury. | Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri

ESPN published a story this morning about Kingsbury’s team policy that will allow for “cellphone breaks” during team meetings. Kingsbury said he implemented a similar practice during his time at Texas Tech, and he believes the move helps maintain player interest and focus over the long term.

According to the story, Kingsbury plans to break every 20 to 30 minutes to allow players to use their phones.

“You start to see kind of hands twitching and legs shaking, and you know they need to get that social media fix, so we’ll let them hop over there and then get back in the meeting and refocus,” Kingsbury told ESPN.

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Some coaches embrace the opportunity to separate athletes from their devices, and they even implement policies that force players to keep their phones in their lockers. It’s unusual to see coaches enable their players’ screen addictions, especially at the sport’s highest level.

Kingsbury was fired last year from Texas Tech, compiling a 35-40 record during his six years with the program. In January, he was hired by the Cardinals to replace Steve Wilks, who was fired after one year with the team.

Read the story at ESPN.


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