Kliff Kingsbury linked to New England Patriots as talk of USC departure continues

USC football offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury would be a candidate for the New England Patriots OC job if Josh McDaniels departs, per Mike Florio.

USC football’s offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury may not just be a candidate for NFL head coaching jobs. The rumor mill has now begun to spin with regard to offensive coordinator opportunities at the pro level.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the New England Patriots would be interested in Kingsbury to run their offense if current offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels takes a head coaching position elsewhere.

“So if he goes, who takes over for McDaniels? Keep an eye on USC offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury,” Florio said in a video clip tweeted by Dov Kleiman. “I’m told he may quit, pay a very low buyout and pursue NFL opportunities.”

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Losing Kingsbury to a head coaching job would be one thing, since a clear promotion and chance to run his own team would be hard to pass up. However, the possibility of losing Kingsbury to an offensive coordinator job in the NFL certainly stings.

Is New England a particularly desirable opportunity for Kingsbury in the first place? Learning under Bill Bellicheck could be of great value, but it would mean being under his thumb.

If autonomy was a draw for taking the USC job, it may be a tough sell to suggest the Patriots would be a better landing spot.

On the other hand, Kingsbury is somewhat familiar to some in New England, including quarterback Tom Brady. They played together when Kingsbury was drafted by the Patriots in 2003.

The current Patriots QB made his weekly appearance on radio station WEEI on Monday and had praise for his former teammate:

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“With Kliff, I played with Kliff and we have been friends ever since,” Brady was quoted by NBC Sports. “I see him from time to time. Danny (Amendola) keeps in touch with him. He’s been a friend of mine for a long time. Kliff has done a great job at Texas Tech, and I know he’s at USC, but it doesn’t surprise me that a lot of teams are interested. He’s just a great football mind and will be successful wherever he’s at.”

It’s important to note that rumors of Kingsbury’s potential departure and interest from NFL teams are all coming from the same place. No one but Florio has backed up the report and until it is clear who Florio’s sources are—and how serious the threat of leaving really is—then the talk around Kingsbury will remain just that, talk.

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Even so, this talk alone is a less-than-ideal start to 2019 from a USC perspective. The sooner a resolution comes, one way or another, the better for the Trojans.