Ex-Cardinals Coach Kliff Kingsbury to Join Lincoln Riley, USC Staff, per Report

He was fired by the Cardinals after a 4–13 record in 2022.

Months after being fired as head coach of the Cardinals, Kliff Kingsbury is reportedly headed back to college.

Kingsbury will join Lincoln Riley’s staff at USC to work with the team’s quarterbacks, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. It will be his first time coaching in college since he left for the NFL ahead of the 2019 season.

Like Riley, Kingsbury’s career ties back to Mike Leach and the Air Raid offense at Texas Tech. Kingsbury was the head coach for the Red Raiders from 2013 to ’18, posting a 35–40 overall record. Previously, he was the offensive coordinator at Houston and Texas A&M.

After being fired from Texas Tech following the 2018 season, Kingsbury was actually hired by then-USC head coach Clay Helton to be the Trojans’ offensive coordinator in December of that year. The following month, however, he accepted the job with the Cardinals, leaving USC before ever coaching a game.

In his first draft with Arizona, Kingsbury selected Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, who won the Heisman Trophy under Riley in 2018. Now, he’ll get a chance to coach reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams, who returns for his junior season.