USC senior offensive analyst Kliff Kingsbury has withdrawn from consideration for the vacant offensive coordinator position with the Las Vegas Raiders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. It was previously reported by Schefter on Thursday that Kingsbury was expected to be hired to fill the Raiders’ job in a return to the NFL. Kingsbury spent four seasons as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals before he was fired in January 2023. He flirted with other NFL opportunities since the end of the 2023 season, including an interview with the Chicago Bears for their previously vacant offensive coordinator position.
CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones reports that prior to Kingsbury’s connection to the Raiders, he was discussed as a potential target for the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator position under new head coach Dan Quinn.
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. It is his second stint with the Trojans after previously being hired as the offensive coordinator ahead of the 2019 season. However, Kingsbury resigned one month into the job before being named the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
He mentored yet another former Heisman winner in Caleb Williams this fall. Williams is expected to be the first quarterback selected in the 2024 NFL Draft and could go No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears or elsewhere via trade.
“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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USC finished No. 3 in the nation in scoring offense this season, averaging 41.8 points per game. It marked a slight uptick from Riley’s first season in Los Angeles despite a dip in production from Williams. The Trojans averaged 41.4 points per game during the 2023 season.
Grant Hughes contributed to this report.
