Kliff Kingsbury is pinning his head coaching hopes on Jayden Daniels

Thanks to a successful season as the Washington Commanders' offensive coordinator, former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has made himself a desirable head coaching candidate once again. Yet, despite having several interview requests at his disposal, he has decided to wait on all of them according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

By waiting, Kingsbury is risking vacancies he might be interested in filling being filled by someone else. His eyes, according to Florio, are fully on Saturday's daunting task as the Commanders attempt to pull off their second consecutive road upset by defeating the Detroit Lions.

With that in mind, Kingsbury might be banking his head coaching future on Washington's rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels.

Whether Kliff Kingsbury lands head coaching gig might hedge on Jayden Daniels

Kingsbury waiting until after Saturday's game (at least) to interview for openings means that teams will have another week of film to use either in favor or against hiring Kingsbury. Obviously, he has a lot to lose based on how Saturday's game unfolds.

if the Commanders win, or even if Jayden Daniels plays well, Kingsbury's stock would only continue to tick upwards. Kingsbury has already done a masterful job with this Commanders' offense, especially with Daniels being a rookie, so an impressive showing in Detroit would only add to his strong season. If the Commanders struggle, though, which is certainly possible against the No. 1 seed in the NFC on the road on a short week, Kingsbury has something to lose.

Florio notes that both the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints have submitted interview requests and that the Jacksonville Jaguars might be interested as well. With a good showing on Saturday, those teams might value Kingsbury even more. There's also the potential that other teams with openings will want to interview him. A bad performance could result in one or all of these teams withdrawing requests, though.

Kingsbury's decision to wait on interviewing is an interesting one, and not one that most assistants interested in head coaching gigs make. There's a lot to gain, but also a good amount to lose as well. Whether Kingsbury ends up landing a head coaching gig could depend on how Saturday goes, and Jayden Daniels has a lot to do with that.