USC offensive coordinator and former Texas Tech head football coach Kliff Kingsbury is reportedly on the Arizona Cardinals' list of candidates for their vacant head coaching position.
But USC apparently isn't interested in allowing Kingsbury to interview for the job.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Saturday that USC athletic director Lynn Swann has not granted NFL teams permission to interview Kingsbury, who was hired as USC offensive coordinator on Dec. 5, just days after he was fired as Texas Tech head coach. The Cardinals and New York Jets have reportedly sought interviews with Kingsbury.
ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, however, reported Kingsbury might resign from his position with USC if the Trojans don't allow him to do interviews with NFL teams. According to Florio:
Per multiple sources, Kingsbury’s contract has a very low buyout. But the buyout never came up because the NFL teams, honoring the strong mandate issued at last month’s ownership meeting, contacted Swann and requested permission to interview Kingsbury. Swann said no, and that was the end of it.
But that may not be the end of it. Kingsbury, the former Texas Tech head coach, may simply pay the buyout, walk away, and see what happens with any NFL head-coaching or offensive coordinator opportunities.
The 39-year-old Kingsbury was fired after posting a 35-40 record in six seasons as head coach at Texas Tech. He previously served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Houston and Texas A&M, where he worked under current Arizona Wildcats head coach Kevin Sumlin. He was a quarterback at Texas Tech and spent time as a QB with the Jets, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints.
The Cardinals have also reportedly interviewed, or are scheduled to interview, Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor, Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell, former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell and former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase. On Monday, the Cardinals fired head coach Steve Wilks after his one and only season with the team.
