One of the more surprising moves of the 2018-19 coaching market, at least to me, was Kliff Kingsbury agreeing to become USC’s offensive coordinator.
The former Texas Tech head coach agreed to the job a week and a half after his firing, knowing Clay Helton could be out of a job after 2019 and before the chance NFL teams could truly inquire about his interest. He’s now officially a USC employee, but that hasn’t stopped NFL teams from sniffing, according to FOX’s Jay Glazer.
In a Sunday morning report, Glazer said NFL teams, in their never-ending hunt to copy whoever won the previous Sunday, are looking for the next next Sean McVay now that the first next McVay, John DeFlilippo, has lost his lost his job as the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator -- and that choice could indeed be Kingsbury.
“Teams were actually looking at his USC contract to see if maybe (they) could lure him before he really starts,” Glazer said.
As the end of the season approaches, @jayglazer has updates on the available coaches out there. pic.twitter.com/iqM4gTrqFk
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 16, 2018
Kingsbury himself said he drew interest from McVay himself, telling Dan Patrick he was “close” to joining the Rams.
It would be wild for a coach fired for going 35-40 in six seasons at his alma mater to immediately ascend to an NFL head coaching post, but even more wild for a USC offensive coordinator job to be in between those two stops.
Still, it seems incredibly unlikely for that to happen -- for obvious reasons.
And if Kingsbury’s USC buyout (which is unknown, due to USC’s status as a private school) keeps him from a possible NFL head coaching job, well, there are worse consolations than living in Los Angeles as Kliff Kingsbury.