Kliff Kingsbury is on his way to the National Football League
By Matt Conner
It sounds as if Kliff Kingsbury, the college coach of Patrick Mahomes, is well on his way to a job in the National Football League after all.
Kliff Kingsbury has a job interview on Tuesday.
The Arizona Cardinals are the team scheduled to chat with Kingsbury today, and they’re not the only team with a head coach opening hoping to score some time with him. At the very least, the New York Jets have thrown their name in the ring as well.
Kingsbury is best known as the head coach at Texas Tech from 2013 to 2018, a position that allowed him the chance to coach up some current NFL quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Davis Webb, Case Keenum, and Baker Mayfield. As the NFL continues to shift toward potent passing offenses, the copycat league is looking for the next Sean McVay (the L.A. Rams coach known for his offensive schemes). Kingsbury could be the guy.
While Kingsbury is only just now entering the picture, it sounds as if he wouldn’t have done so without confidence he would land one of these coveted job openings.
The Cardinals in particular have been hard-pressed to find a replacement for Steve Wilks, who lasted a single year in Arizona with a depleted roster. Mike McCarthy refused to interview with them despite being fired by the Green Bay Packers in recent days, and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy did the same.
Kingsbury recently accepted a position as offensive coordinator for the University of Southern California, but the NFL interests forced him to abandon that position in order to interview and weigh his options. Kingsbury has often been mentioned as a potential OC candidate in Kansas City if Bieniemy lands one of the head coach openings.
The Red Raiders went 35-40 under Kingsbury in his six seasons at Tech, making three Bowl appearances in that span.