Kliff Kingsbury hired as USC football’s new offensive coordinator

USC football has clinched former Texas Tech head coach as the Trojans new offensive coordinator, according to Bruce Feldman.

When athletic director Lynn Swann decided to bring back Clay Helton as the head coach of USC football, he promised major changes to help the program bounce back from a 5-7 record in 2018.

On Thursday, Swann and Helton followed through with that mandate by hiring one of the biggest names on the market to replace Tee Martin as offensive coordinator.

On Tuesday, former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury agreed to become the Trojan offensive coordinator, per Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and The Athletic.

UPDATE: USC officially announced Kingsbury’s hiring on Twitter on Wednesday morning. He will serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

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Kingsbury was without a doubt the No. 1 choice on the board for USC as they searched for a new offensive coordinator, following the removal of Martin last Tuesday. Despite reports last week that a deal had been agreed, NFL interest appeared to delay his choice.

Though he was fired from Texas Tech after going 5-7 in his six season as head coach, Kingsbury’s offenses remained some of the impressive in college football across his tenure. He ranked in the Top 30 of S&P+ in each of the last five years.

After being Mike Leach’s first air raid quarterback and setting records as a quarterback himself at Texas Tech, Kingsbury has become a leading quarterback guru within the air raid. He oversaw Johnny Manziel winning the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M, and has coached the nation’s passing leader three different times. Houston’s Case Keenum and Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes combined for four seasons of 5,000-plus yards under Kingsbury.

MUST-READ: How USC’s current players fit Kliff Kingsbury’s offense

The Trojans will hope to see that offense success translate with even more elite talent for Kingsbury to utilize at USC, including quarterback JT Daniels and likely-to-return receivers Michael Pittman, Tyler Vaughns and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

USC fans may not want to embrace the air raid compared to the ground-oriented offenses of the past, but the Trojan offense already incorporates many spread concepts. Plus, USC was at its best on offense when it deployed air raid spread tactics against Washington State and Notre Dame in 2018.