Report: Kliff Kingsbury May Resign to Pursue NFL Interviews After USC Denies Cards, Jets Requests

After USC denied the Cardinals and Jets permission to interview Kingsbury, there is a chance the newly hired OC will resign in the wake of the Trojans' refusal.

The University of Southern California has reportedly denied the Jets and Cardinals permission to interview the Trojans' new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury for NFL head coaching jobs, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

There is a chance Kingsbury resigns from his position at USC to explore the NFL opportunities being presented to him, ProFootballTalk reports.

USC coach Clay Helton brought Kingsbury on to his staff in early December after the former Texas Tech coach was fired by the Red Raiders. 

Even before Kingsbury joined USC's staff, several NFL teams had expressed interest in bringing him on board, including the Los Angeles Rams. The Jets and Cardinals put in requests to interview Kingsbury last week after both teams fired their head coaches on Black Monday, but were denied by USC. 

At last month's NFL owners meetings in Dallas, league officials informed team executives that they would now be enforcing the old rule that requires team executives to request permission from college athletic directors to interview college coaches.

Failing to request permission before interviewing a college coach would be considered "conduct detrimental" and could result in the docking of draft picks from teams, per ESPN. If permission is denied, the NFL should respect the decision "as it would respect a similar decision from another NFL club," according to the rules. 

Both the Cardinals and the Jets will continue to interview other candidates unless USC decides to reverse their refusal.

The Red Raiders fired Kingsbury in November after the team fell to Baylor for its seventh loss of the season, putting a postseason appearance out of play. Kingsbury, 39, spent six seasons with his alma mater Texas Tech but failed to record a winning season in each of the past three years, going 35–40 all-time in Lubbock.