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Aaron Donald has just signed a lucrative new three-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams, which will pay him around $95 million, making him the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
There was plenty of talk this offseason that suggested Donald would retire. He is a once-in-a-generation talent, and now that he has his Super Bowl ring, there's nothing left to prove. Those concerns turned out to be a false alarm and there was a lot of relief for Rams fans after news of his contract extension broke.
One man who was not happy, however, was Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Both Donald and Kingsbury were in attendance at the wedding of Rams HC Sean McVay last weekend and Kingsbury seized on his opportunity to try and convince the three-time Defensive Player of the Year to call it a day.
There was, of course, a method to Coach Kingsbury's madness. His Cardinals team resides in the NFC West, the very same division as the Rams, so faces the prospect of having to face the defensive tackle twice a season. Much to the disappointment of Kingbury, and more so his quarterback Kyler Murray, he failed.
When asked about the encounter, the Cardinals head coach had the following to say:
"I did my best to try and convince Aaron Donald to retire, obviously that didn't work. I thought, I told him you've accomplished all you can accomplish, it's a great idea to go out on your own terms, all that."
Aaron Donald vs Kliff Kingsbury
Donald has a tremendous record against most head coaches, however he seems to save a little bit extra for the Cardinals. Kingsbury holds a brutal 1-5 record against the Rams, including a chastening 34-11 defeat in the Wild Card round of last year's playoffs.
Throughout his career, the future Hall of Famer has managed to rack up the numbers when playing against his NFC West rivals. He has recorded a total of 37 solo tackles, 19 assists and 15.5 sacks in his 17 games against the Cardinals. Six of those sacks have come in games whilst Kingsbury has been in charge.
The defensive tackle is a force of nature, a player that can wreck any game, at any point. With this in mind, who can blame the coach? Had he been successful, there would have been 30 other NFL head coaches queuing up to buy him a drink.
If your team does not have to play against him, you should take every moment to enjoy watching, as it will be a long time before we see anyone like him again.
