Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury will reportedly join Lincoln Riley's staff at the University of Southern California as a senior offensive analyst, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero Monday (April 10) night.
Kingsbury, who played quarterback at Texas Tech and as an NFL backup, had previously worked as a quarterbacks coach -- as well as an offensive coordinator -- at Houston and later Texas A&M, as well as the head coach at his alma matter. The 43-year-old will now work with reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, having previously coached several top collegiate quarterbacks.
"Kliff Kingsbury’s past college QB pupils include NCAA record-breaking passer Case Keenum, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and future NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. Now, reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams will soon join the list," Pelissero tweeted.
Kingsbury was fired by the Cardinals in January, which NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport described as feeling "more like a mutual parting than anything." The 43-year-old had signed an extension running through the 2027 in March 2022, coming off his best season as the Cardinals' head coach since being hired in 2019.
Arizona finished the 2021 season with an 11-6 record for second-place in the NFC West, before being eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card playoff round.
The Cardinals had improved their record from the previous season during Kingsbury's past two seasons, finishing with a 5-10-1 record during his first season and 8-8 in 2020.
But the team fell short of expectations in 2022, finishing with a 4-13 record, which was the third worst among all 32 NFL teams and missed the playoffs for the third time in Kingsbury's four-year coaching tenure.
Kingsbury was hired by Arizona in 2019 after the franchise had fired former head coach Steve Wilks after just one season in 2018. The former NFL quarterback had previously served as the head coach at Texas Tech for six seasons, as well as stints as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Houston and Texas A&M.