Commanders' Kliff Kingsbury: ‘Better Coach’ for Working with USC’s Lincoln Riley

Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has rediscovered his love for coaching offense and working with quarterbacks, thanks to a brief stop on the staff of USC’s Lincoln Riley.

Prior to becoming the Washington Commanders new offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury spent the 2023 season on the staff of head coach Lincoln Riley at the University of Southern California

Considering the acrimony with which his first stint with the Trojans ended, Kingbury’s job as an offensive assistant was seen not only as an opportunity to mend fences with the University, but also recalibrate his candidacy for a return to the NFL as a coordinator. 

Accordingly, the 44-year-old is now pulling upon both his collegiate prowess and his time as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals to help guide Washington’s quarterback of the future. 

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“Yeah, I hope so,” Kingsbury said of his experience with working in Riley last season. “Coach Riley is a phenomenal coach. To be able to be around him, watch him from that view, his processes, how he works with the team, was awesome. A great learning experience. And then just to be around the younger players again, really reenergized me, remotivated me. I kind of got to be the good cop the entire year in that space and felt like he gave me a chance to kind of reevaluate some of my processes and how I operate and felt like he made me a better coach.”

When it comes to developing young quarterbacks, Kingsbury has developed a reputation as something of an offensive ‘guru.’

From his time working with Case Keenum as Houston's co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2011, to guiding Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M in 2012, Kingsbuy’s prowess continued to grow. Ultimately, he solidified his place among football’s “quarterback whisperers” as head coach at Texas Tech — working closely with eventual Super Bowl champion. And MVP Patrick Mahomes from 2014-16.

Still, some bloom was shaken from the rose in January 2019 when Kingsbury jilted USC after agreeing to become their offensive coordinator just over one month earlier. Despite parlaying his change of heart into an NFL head coaching position with the Arizona Cardinals, Kingsbury would experience more struggle than success. The Cardinals failed to quality for the playoffs in three of his four seasons at the helm, while leading them to a 28-37 record before his removal from the job. 

In returning to USC, Kingsbury not only reset his priorities, but he also rekindled some techniques which he had neglected during his time in Arizona. Working alongside Riley, he was free to focus on the “football” aspect of football. 

"Just getting to watch Lincoln, from afar, and observe him and how he coaches and how he schemes things up and his processes was huge,” Kingsbury added. “And then just being around the younger players and really diving back into the everyday teaching. Sometimes when you're a head coach, you step back from the one-on-ones a little bit. And this allowed me to get back into that vein.”

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In light of Kingsbury’s hiring, Washington fans are excited by the prospect that blue chip quarterback prospect Caleb Williams — with whom he worked last season at USC — may find his way to the nation’s capital via their No. 2 selection in the upcoming draft. While Williams becoming a Commander is far from a foregone conclusion, Kingsbury’s new outlook on coaching offense should give Washington fans optimism for 2024.