USC football: Kliff Kingsbury reportedly to interview for NFL head coaching jobs

New USC offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury will reportedly interview for head coaching jobs in the NFL, leaving the Trojans in danger of losing their new assistant.

It may officially be time for USC fans to strap in for what could be a nervous January as links between new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and NFL opportunities heat up.

Kingsbury is set to formally interview for the open head coaching positions with the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports.

The recently-hired Trojan offensive coordinator was already reported to have turned down a head coaching opportunity at Houston this weekend, per Brett McMurphy.

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It obviously bodes well for the Trojans that Kingsbury would rather stay on as USC’s offensive coordinator than jump at a head coaching gig in the Group of Five. However, USC is not out of the woods on the college football front just yet.

While most NCAA jobs have already been filled, the West Virginia post just opened up with the move of Volunteer head coach Dana Holgerson to take the job that Kingsbury spurned at Houston.

As for the NFL, despite the link, it seems unlikely a pro team would really tap Kingsbury as a head coach given his mediocre record at Texas Tech. However, stranger things have happened in the NFL and his ability to get interviews shows how desperate teams are to recreate the success of franchises like the LA Rams, whose hotshot offensive-minded head coach Sean McVay has transformed the franchise.

Perhaps more concerning, there more than a handful of open offensive coordinator positions in the pros which still need filling. If two teams are seriously considering Kingsbury as a head coach, many more will be interested in bringing him in to take control of their offense. The Atlanta Falcons, for instance, just parted ways with offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, a name familiar to USC fans.

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Clay Helton’s biggest recruiting job since the end of the 2018 season may not be complete as holding onto Kingsbury becomes the biggest priority. If he opts to take another job, the progress the Trojans made toward revitalizing an underperforming offense would be completely undone. Not only would the head coach have to find someone new to run the offense in 2019, but faith in Helton’s ability to get the program back on track would be severely dampened.

It remains a wait-and-see situation.