HEADLINES

Kliff Kingsbury

Cardinals To Interview Kliff Kingsbury

January 8th, 2019 at 9:34am CST by Zachary Links

Former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury will interview with the Cardinals for their head coaching job on Tuesday, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Kingsbury was reportedly blocked from interviews by USC, who recently hired him to be their offensive coordinator, but the Jets and Cardinals have found some sort of work around. 

After Kingsbury’s interview with Gang Green on Monday, no one is quite sure about his employment status. As far as we know, he’s still signed up to be the offensive coordinator of the Trojans, but it’s possible that he has resigned from the post in order to pursue his NFL dreams.

Kingsbury built a reputation for innovative and explosive schemes at Texas Tech, but he would be an out-of-the-box hire for the Cardinals or the Jets. Then again, the Cardinals also have young offensive wizard Zac Taylor on the radar, so they’re not squarely locked in on head coaching retreads.

In addition to Kingsbury and Taylor, other known candidates for the job include Jim Caldwell, Dan Campbell, and Adam Gase.

Kliff Kingsbury Meeting With Jets

January 7th, 2019 at 3:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It’s been only an hour since we heard that former Texas Tech coach and current USC offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury would begin interviewing with NFL teams after USC previously denied his permission, and now he’s already taking his first meeting. 

Kingsbury is meeting with the Jets today about their head coaching vacancy, a source told Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports (Twitter link). The Jets and Cardinals have been the two teams most heavily linked to Kingsbury, and the report earlier today was that there was “strong mutual interest” between Kingsbury and the Cardinals. Now it sounds like the Jets might be hoping to steal him away before Arizona ever gets the chance.

Kingsbury was known for always running innovative and creative offenses at Texas Tech, and there’s been a lot of NFL buzz about him as the league’s offenses trend more and more toward adapting college concepts. The Jets are seemingly looking for an offensive mind to pair with Sam Darnold, so Kingsbury would certainly make sense.

New York interviewed Jim Caldwell earlier today, and has been linked to several other offensive coaches like Mike McCarthy and Jim Harbaugh. At this point Kingsbury seems like a solid bet to make the jump to the pro ranks, whether it’s as a head coach or an offensive coordinator.

Kliff Kingsbury To Interview For NFL Jobs

January 7th, 2019 at 2:23pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

After a week of drama, Kliff Kingsbury will begin interviewing for NFL jobs after all, according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports (Twitter link). 

Adam Schefter of ESPN confirmed Glazer’s report in a tweet, adding that Kingsbury is “square in the HC mix.” Glazer’s initial tweet indicated that Kingsbury had resigned as USC’s offensive coordinator in order to be able to interview, while Schefter’s only states that “USC initially blocked him from doing so.” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweeted that a USC official told him Kingsbury is still employed there, so it seems like he hasn’t resigned at this point.

We first heard last week that the Jets and Cardinals were interested in interviewing Kingsbury, but then word came that USC’s athletic director was blocking him from interviewing. There was a report a couple of days ago that he could resign in order to pursue NFL opportunities, and that report stated his contract with USC had a “very low buyout” and that Kingsbury would “undoubtedly find work at least as an offensive coordinator” in the NFL.

There’s a “growing perception in league circles” that the Cardinals “are seriously considering Kingsbury for their position”, according to Albert Breer of SI.com (Twitter link). Sources also told Schefter that there was “strong mutual interest” between Kingsbury and the Cardinals prior to the athletic director blocking things. With that hurdle out of the way, Kingsbury will now presumably interview for Arizona’s job as well as the one in New York.

While Kingsbury’s tenure at Texas Tech was never particularly successful in terms of wins and losses, he always had one of the most innovative and dynamic offenses in the country, and is a highly respected offensive mind. It’s been reported for a while now that NFL teams were looking to pick his brain, and he did develop Patrick Mahomes with the Red Raiders. He’s been linked recently to the Patriots’ offensive coordinator job if Josh McDaniels were to leave to take a head coaching gig, and Tom Brady sung his praises on the radio earlier today, according to Zack Cox of NESN.com.

Kliff Kingsbury Could Resign From USC To Pursue NFL Opportunities

January 5th, 2019 at 5:42pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We first heard a few days ago that the Jets and Cardinals were interested in interviewing former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury for their head coaching vacancies. Kingsbury was hired to be the offensive coordinator at USC shortly after the college season ended, and we heard earlier today that USC was denying the NFL teams permission to talk to him.

Now we have more details, and a possible scenario for Kingsbury to circumvent his current employer. It’s specifically USC athletic director Lynn Swann who is blocking any potential interviews, and Kingsbury may resign in response, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Multiple sources told Florio that Kingsbury’s contract with USC has a “very low buyout”, so he might “simply resign his position as Trojans offensive coordinator and move on.”

If he does decide to quit and pursue NFL opportunities, Florio thinks he’ll “undoubtedly find work at least as an offensive coordinator”, and if that’s true it makes plenty of sense why he’d want to leave. Both the Jets and Cardinals are likely looking for offensive coaches to pair with Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen, and Kingsbury would be a young outside the box hire.

While Kingsbury’s reign at Texas Tech was never particularly successful in terms of wins and losses, he always had one of the most innovative and dynamic offenses in the country, and is a highly respected offensive mind. It’s been reported for a while now that NFL teams were looking to pick his brain, and he was linked to the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator job before Dallas’ staff saved their jobs with a strong finish.

Jets, Cardinals Denied Permission To Interview Kliff Kingsbury

January 5th, 2019 at 12:23pm CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like the Cardinals and Jets may not be interviewing former Texas Tech head coach and current USC coordinator Kliff Kingsbury after all. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that USC has denied the NFL teams permission to interview their offensive coordinator. Previous reports indicated that Kingsbury would indeed be interviewing with Arizona and New York.

As Schefter notes, this news is a “perfect storm of the NFL’s new enforcement of an old rule.” League officials recently informed team executives that they had to request permission from athletic directors in order to interview college head coaches. If teams didn’t follow this protocol, it’d be considered “conduct detrimental” to the league, at which time the NFL could “dock draft picks” from the applicable teams.

“If permission is denied, the NFL club should respect that decision just as it would respect a similar decision from another NFL club,” the rule states. “NFL clubs that fail to follow these protocols may be subject to disciplinary action for conduct detrimental to the League.”

Following a 5-7 campaign, Kingsbury was fired by Texas Tech in late November. Despite his lackluster tenure at the school, NFL teams have taken notice of his ability to develop quarterbacks; Kingsbury ultimately brought both Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield to Lubbock, Texas.

After declining a chance to become the head coach of the University of Houston, he quickly caught on as USC’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, replacing Tee Martin. Prior to accepting the USC gig, the coach reportedly received overtures from NFL teams. However, since that time, Kingsbury has continued to say that he is solely focused on his current gig with the Trojans.

Cardinals, Jets Expected To Interview Kliff Kingsbury

January 1st, 2019 at 5:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Lincoln Riley avenue appears closed for NFL teams, they continue to explore what a college-level offensive innovator could bring to the table.

The Cardinals and Jets are expected to meet with former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury about their head coach vacancies, Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com reports.

Two other teams with HC openings said Kingsbury was on their radar but that no interviews were as of yet scheduled. The 39-year-old coach is also being monitored for NFL offensive coordinator jobs, Robinson adds. The Rams contacted Kingsbury about an assistant job late last year.

The Red Raiders fired Kingsbury after this season, but NFL teams took notice of the job he did leading the Big 12 program’s explosive offenses. Kingsbury brought both Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield to Lubbock, Texas, and steered the former to becoming a top-10 pick.

Kingsbury declined a chance to become the University of Houston’s head coach and is on USC’s staff as the program’s OC and quarterbacks coach. While Texas Tech only went 35-40 under Kingsbury, his offenses have obviously attracted NFL franchises — especially given the successes of younger, offensively oriented coaches in recent years. Case Keenum also set NCAA passing records under Kingsbury when they were at Houston together.

A former Red Raiders quarterback, Kingsbury was briefly on the Jets’ roster, in 2005, before transitioning to the CFL and then going into coaching. The Jets attempted to bring Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell in for an interview, but the Cyclones’ coach declined.

Kliff Kingsbury Joins USC

December 4th, 2018 at 11:26am CST by Zachary Links

Kliff Kingsbury is not coming to the NFL. Not yet, at least. On Tuesday, Kingsbury finalized a deal to become the new offensive coordinator at USC (Twitter link via Bruce Feldman of FS1). 

The former Texas Tech head coach was thought to be a hot candidate for NFL coaching positions, but the allure of joining USC and being a heartbeat away from replacing Clay Helton as the program’s head coach next year was too good to pass up. The Rams were reportedly among the NFL teams that were looking into in hiring Kingsbury as an offensive assistant and the Eagles were also believed to have some level of interest in him.

Kingsbury, 39, was fired after five-plus years of lackluster results at Texas Tech, during which he posted a 35-40 overall record. Despite the lack of overall success with the Red Raiders, he is highly respected in coaching circles for his energy, ambition, and offensive knowhow.

Rams Have Contacted Kliff Kingsbury

December 2nd, 2018 at 3:43pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Rams have reached out to former Kliff Kinsgbury to gauge his interest in joining Los Angeles as an offensive assistant/consultant for the remainder of the season, according to Peter Schrager of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Kingsbury has already been generating interest from around the NFL, but it wasn’t clear if he’d attempt to latch on with a club before the 2018 campaign expired, or instead wait for next season. The Rams, admittedly, probably aren’t a long-term fit for Kingsbury. Head coach Sean McVay calls the offensive plays in Los Angeles and isn’t likely to relinquish those duties any time soon.

But Kingsbury could presumably assist in other capacities with the Rams, and he’s certainly respected around both the collegiate and pro game for his offensive ingenuity and creativity. While Los Angeles wouldn’t immediately start running Kingsbury’s Air Raid offense if he were to be hired, his presence on the team’s staff could only help the Rams over the course of the regular season and into the playoffs.

Kingsbury, 39, was fired after five-plus years of lackluster results at Texas Tech, during which he posted a 35-40 overall record. While he’s never coached in the NFL, he did play professionally with the Patriots, Jets, and Saints from 2003-05.

NFL Teams Interested In Kliff Kingsbury

November 29th, 2018 at 3:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Rumors are circulating about former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury heading to USC to become their new offensive coordinator. That may still come to fruition, but no deal has been struck just yet and Kingsbury continues to consider offers from both the college ranks and the NFL, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. 

Kingsbury was canned by Texas Tech on Nov. 25 after the Red Raiders finished with a 5-7 record. Kingsbury went just 35-40 in his six seasons at the helm, but NFL teams – and other college programs – remain intrigued by his offensive mind and ingenuity.

Kingsbury is unlikely to receive head coaching consideration in the NFL, particularly at this juncture of the season, but he may fit as a quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator elsewhere. There aren’t a ton of true vacancies for those positions out there, but clubs that are high on Kingsbury may be willing to bust out some pink slips and make room.