LOS ANGELES — His first stint at USC lasted all of 34 days, a monthlong layover as offensive coordinator on his way to Arizona and the NFL. There was barely time for Kliff Kingsbury to unpack his bags at Heritage Hall in January 2019 before the Cardinals came calling, handing him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Four years after he left, Kingsbury has made his way back to L.A.
This time, he won't call plays. He won't even be a full-time member of USC's coaching staff. Kingsbury is expected to join Lincoln Riley's staff as a senior offensive analyst, working with the Trojans quarterbacks in a support role.
"We're excited to officially welcome Kliff to our coaching staff and add another outstanding football mind to our program," Riley said in a statement.
It's a role for which Kingsbury should be particularly well suited. A prolific college quarterback at Texas Tech, he has accumulated an extensive list of accomplished passers who have spent time under his wing. He's worked with the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield at Texas Tech, Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M and Kyler Murray with the Cardinals, earning a reputation along the way as an "Air Raid" passing expert and developer of quarterbacks.
At USC, he's expected to work closely with Caleb Williams, giving the reigning Heisman Trophy winner another valuable voice in the Trojans quarterbacks room.
For Kingsbury, USC offers a soft landing after a steep fall from grace as the Cardinals coach. Just 10 months ago, ahead of his fourth season in Arizona, Kingsbury signed a six-year contract extension with the Cardinals through 2027. He'd just taken the Cardinals to the playoffs.
The relationship soured quickly from there as Arizona skidded to a 4-13 finish last season. Kingsbury was fired shortly thereafter.
The circumstances are vaguely similar to the first time Kingsbury landed at USC. When he agreed in December 2018 to join Clay Helton's staff as USC's offensive coordinator, Kingsbury recently had been fired by Texas Tech, where four of his six seasons as coach yielded records below .500. Before that, he'd served short stints as a coordinator at Texas A&M and Houston.
Still, his reputation as a passing guru preceded him when he signed on at USC. Kingsbury was one of the hottest names available on the coaching market. His hire was viewed at the time as a major coup for Helton and embattled athletic director Lynn Swann, both of whom were under fire after a disastrous 2018 campaign.
His early exit only fanned those flames. Kingsbury resigned from his role as offensive coordinator in order to interview with both the Jets and Cardinals. He chose the latter, leaving USC to scramble for a new coordinator.
"I thought that was an incredible opportunity with coach Helton, Mr. Swann, that program, that tradition," Kingsbury said at the time, "but this is just an opportunity I couldn't pass up."
USC eventually settled on Graham Harrell, another former Texas Tech quarterback. He lasted three seasons at USC before Riley — a third consecutive Red Raiders quarterback — took the reins for the 2022 season. Kingsbury spent the next four seasons working with Murray, a quarterback Riley helped coach to a Heisman Trophy win.
The two coaches' paths had been intertwined long before that. Kingsbury was a senior quarterback in Lubbock, Texas, setting records at the helm of Mike Leach's Air Raid offense, when Riley joined the Red Raiders as a walk-on.
Now their paths will cross again as Kingsbury makes his way back to L.A., this time as a part of Riley's staff — and with much lower stakes than before.
