The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to hire USC senior offensive analyst Kliff Kingsbury as their next offensive coordinator, Adam Schefter reports. The hire marks a quick return to the pros for Kingsbury, who spent four seasons as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach (2019-22) and flirted with other NFL opportunities this offseason.
Kingsbury will face Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and former pupil Patrick Mahomes twice a year in the AFC West. Kingsbury coached Texas Tech from 2013-18 and recruited Mahomes to the Red Raiders program during his second season at the helm. The duo set several records during their three years together, and Mahomes capped his college career by throwing for 5,052 yards and 41 touchdowns with 10 interceptions as a junior in 2016.
Kingsbury led the Cardinals to a 28-37 record during his four seasons at the helm but helped former Oklahoma quarterback and 2019 No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray develop into one of the NFL’s most exciting young quarterbacks. Murray’s two Pro Bowl appearances (2020-21) were during Kingsbury’s tenure.
Kingsbury last served as an offensive coordinator in 2012 at Texas A&M, where he mentored former Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. He spent his early coaching career at Houston, first as an offensive quality control coach and then as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
The genesis of Mike Leach’s famed Air Raid system came during Kingsbury’s career as the Red Raiders’ starting quarterback (1998-02). He thrived within the offense, setting 39 school records and 17 FBS marks across his three years under Leach’s tutelage. He finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting at the end of the 2002 season.
His backup quarterback as a senior was USC head coach Lincoln Riley. The two reconnected during Kingsbury’s tenure with the Cardinals, and Riley brought him aboard as USC’s senior offensive analyst last offseason. He mentored yet another former Heisman winner in Caleb Williams this fall.
“Kingsbury was a really great get, and it’s going to make us a lot better,” Riley said after hiring Kingsbury. “I got to know him more when I was at Oklahoma and he was at Texas Tech. We had a chance to communicate some, and then obviously, he went to the NFL, and then they drafted Kyler Murray right away. That immediately opened up a really good line of communication, and we probably became closer the last few years.”
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