Report: Kliff Kingsbury may resign as USC football OC to explore NFL opportunities

USC football offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is reportedly considering resigning after being blocked from NFL interview opportunities.

The drama around USC football’s attempts to keep Kliff Kingsbury from interviewing for NFL head coaching jobs heated up on Saturday afternoon with a report suggesting the offensive coordinator is considering resigning.

After athletic director Lynn Swann reportedly opted to deny requests from the Cardinals and Jets to interview Kingsbury, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported on Saturday afternoon that multiple sources suggest “Kingsbury…may simply pay the buyout, walk away, and see what happens with any NFL head-coaching or offensive coordinator opportunities.”

Per Florio, Swann is “believed to be the first college A.D. to ever block a coach from interviewing for an NFL head-coaching job.”

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This Kingsbury saga has become the ultimate story of risk and reward.

When the Trojans hired Kingsbury to replace Tee Martin as offensive coordinator, they knew NFL interest in such a bright offensive mind was high. However, they managed to lock him in to take over the USC offense in what was viewed as a homerun hire.

Unfortunately for USC, the NFL interest returned as soon as the regular season ended, leaving Swann with a dilemma: Let Kingsbury interview for head coaching jobs and risk losing him. Or block him from interviewing and…risk losing him.

On the one hand, it’s understandable that Swann apparently tried to protect his most coveted asset going into the 2019 season. Bringing back Clay Helton as head coach could only work if the Trojans made a serious change on offense after the 5-7 2018 campaign and Kingsbury represented the clear solution to revive USC’s offense. Losing him to the NFL would have set the Trojans back immeasurably.

On the other hand, Swann may have shot himself in the foot by forcing Kingsbury’s hand. Despite the interview opportunities from New York and Arizona, there was no guarantee an NFL franchise would ultimately decide to hire a head coach who went 35-40 before being fired by Texas Tech. Letting him interview may have opened the door for his departure, but refusing him may have burned the bridge completely.

Swann could still attempt to repair the damage by giving Kingsbury his blessing to interview with the Cardinals and Jets. Either way, it’s been a rocky start to this particular marriage.