Those in the college football world were shocked by the news that a former NFL head coach was going back to his old roots.
NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported Monday night that former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury is expected to take a job with the USC Trojans, working with quarterbacks as a senior offensive analyst.
Kingsbury will make his long-awaited return to Southern Cal. He was hired by the program to be their offensive coordinator after being let go at Texas Tech in 2019. Reports then surfaced that the Cardinals and New York Jets had an interest in interviewing Kingsbury, but were blocked by then-Athletic Director Lynn Swann, as Kingsbury had already signed a contractual agreement.
One month into his new role, Kingsbury would resign from his post. He interviewed with both the Jets and Cardinals, with the latter team making him their head coach. He spent four seasons with the Cardinals (2019-2022) and compiled a 28-37-1 record with one playoff appearance.
Kingsbury was reportedly going to take the year off from coaching amid interest from several NFL and Power Five teams to be their offensive coordinator. After being fired in Arizona, he bought a 1-way ticket to Thailand as he contemplated his future.
Obviously, Kingsbury, who has been renowned for his work with quarterbacks, couldn’t resist the temptation and has returned to the college game. He’s worked with quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Johnny Manziel, Josh Rosen and Kyler Murray, and now will get to work with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in Caleb Williams.
The college football world reacted to the huge Southern Cal coaching news on social media:
Kliff also coached the QB that Caleb Williams is compared to most. https://t.co/ti7HXnFUWq
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 11, 2023
still funny that Kliff took the USC OC job in 2018–makes sense, logical next step for a smart guy who just got fired with a losing record as a college head coach—and then a month later he gets a call from his agent like “you’re not gonna believe this…” https://t.co/bv6P2g0UHd
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) April 11, 2023
Lincoln Riley is THE BEST offensive mind in College Football.
He also just added one of the better offensive minds in CFB last decade to his staff in Kliff Kingsbury.
Hate him or love him, USC’s offense will be scary next year.— TND (@TNDTweets) April 11, 2023
Most importantly for Kingsbury, he keeps collecting checks from the Cardinals but avoids claim he isn’t looking for a job hard enough (this salary nets out from Cardinals paycheck). So keep getting $$$ from Cardinals, run some QB drills, draw up some plays, and live in L.A. https://t.co/b6uC5r2Snu
— Chris B. Brown (@smartfootball) April 11, 2023
Remember when the future of USC football was Kliff Kingsbury and JT Daniels https://t.co/fitGiTmms9
— Philip Patek (@halfbackiso) April 11, 2023
That one way ticket came back quick didn’t it? https://t.co/t3sTDrU5KY
— Zeke’s Spoon (@SpoonOfZeke) April 11, 2023
Kliff Kingsbury got paid $27.5M by the Cardinals to go to Thailand and will now coach football in LA with a Heisman winning QB at USC …🐐
— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) April 11, 2023
it took a couple years longer than expected but kliff kingsbury is finally at USC pic.twitter.com/rZCjoQVng7
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) April 11, 2023
[Tom Pelissero on Twitter]
