Kliff Kingsbury to USC and What it Means for the Trojans

USC head coach Lincoln Riley continues to build the greatest quarterback room in college football. According to a report Monday evening from Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, USC is set to hire former NFL head coach Kliff Kingsbury to the Trojans’ coaching staff.

Without an on-field role open, Kingsbury will come in as a Senior Offensive Analyst. While he won’t be able to do any on-field coaching in that position, the expectation is for Kingsbury to work with the quarterbacks in meetings as well as watch film and provide something of a sounding board for coaches on the offensive side of the ball.

Last season, Will Harriger filled this role. He had a previous connection to Caleb Williams through the QB Collective. He’d also worked with Russell Wilson in Seattle and had stops in Atlanta and Jacksonville. Harriger was hired this offseason by the Dallas Cowboys as a Quality Control and Offensive Assistant.

Kingsbury is clearly a much bigger name and will generate far more attention than Harriger’s hiring did. But the end result is largely the same. One of the huge items on Williams’ checklist when looking at potential transfer destinations was how he would be prepared for the NFL. Harriger had plenty of experience at that level. Kingsbury’s is more limited in terms of years. But it’s likely impossible to find an available offensive mind who fill that need for an NFL mind more than Kingsbury.

Kingsbury and Riley as Quarterback Whisperers

Plenty will be made about him lasting just four seasons with the Cardinals. But he’s also the coach who turned a 3-13 franchise into a playoff team in three years. And he can point to two years working with No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray, a former Riley quarterback.

The USC quarterback room has to be ecstatic over this. Indeed, the entire USC offense must be. It’s not as if the USC offense needed a major jolt after scoring 41 points per game in Riley’s first season with the Trojans. But putting another voice and perspective in the room–and the voice and perspective of a guy who clearly understands offensive football–is a plus for anybody listening.

Riley’s history with quarterbacks is well known. He’s now coached three Heisman winners and can claim Jalen Hurts as well. But Kingsbury is up there, too.

Kingsbury saw enough in Baker Mayfield as a walk-on true freshman at Texas Tech to name him the starting quarterback. Riley obviously coached Mayfield as well, helping him to a Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma and the No. 1 pick in the draft. The two coaches can also lay claim to working with Murray. Kingsbury was the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M in 2012 when quarterback Johnny Manziel won the Heisman. He also coached Patrick Mahomes for his entire Texas Tech career. Mahomes eventually left early as the No. 10 overall pick and became an NFL superstar with the Chiefs.

Riley Making a Statement

This is a major statement from both Riley and USC.

For Riley, it shows he’s unafraid of bringing in a powerful figure on his side of the ball. Football coaches can be both stubborn and protective of the things about which they’re passionate. USC fans likely wouldn’t have had a problem if Riley wanted to be the only voice for the USC offense. And, certainly, the Trojans would have performed well. But just as Alabama head coach Nick Saban continuously brings in strong defensive minds as analysts on the side of the ball he’s known for, Riley has done that as well.

Riley provided his views on the analyst positions (and likely Kingsbury’s expectations on offense). Here’s what Riley said about Brown.

“He’s somebody our defensive coaches can sit in there and bounce ideas back and forth off of,” Riley said. “And he can give them just an open, honest opinion.”

Another benefit is that Brown isn’t looking out for any one position group, which can be a challenge when coaches discuss plans.

“It’s just how we’re all wired,” Riley said. “Coaches are biased like we all are with our kids. The linebacker coach is always going to see it through the eyes of a linebacker. The d-line coach, when he makes a suggestion, he’s probably not thinking about the corner…He’s thinking about his dudes up front.”

Riley said it will be “invaluable” to have Brown as someone who can take a bird’s-eye-view of the defense and offer different ideas.

Recruiting Bump

Nobody expects Kingsbury to be a longtime analyst at USC. So guessing that he will have a significant impact on a Class of 2024 prospect like Dylan Raiola or anybody in the 2025 or 2026 classes is premature. But again, it serves as a statement to those players as to what they’ll likely be surrounded by should they select the Trojans. Riley knows how important the quarterback position is to his offense and in college football.

He’s showing that he’ll do whatever it takes to put his quarterbacks in the best possible position to succeed in college and the NFL. That’s something recruits can’t possibly ignore.

USC Joining the Analyst Arms Race

It also shows that USC is serious about competing at the highest levels of college football (as if the Riley hiring in the first place didn’t prove that).

Alabama is the program that first embraced the countless analysts as de facto assistant coaches that technically don’t count against the on-field coaching limit. The Crimson Tide have 11 Football Analysts and two Athletics Analysts listed among their football staff. Those include former college head coaches Charlie Strong and Derek Dooley.

Kingsbury will come in as analyst No. 7 for the Trojans in 2023. But he’s the second significant veteran addition this offseason. Recently, USC announced the hiring of Greg Brown as a Senior Defensive Analyst.

USC’s analysts now include:

Kliff Kingsbury – Senior Offensive Analyst
Derek Fa’avi – Offensive Analyst
Greg Brown – Senior Defensive Analyst
Parker Henry – Senior Defensive Analyst/Assistant Linebackers
Taylor Mays – Defensive Analyst
Bookie Radley-Hiles – Defensive Analyst
Ryan Dougherty – Senior Special Teams Analyst/Assistant Special Teams Coordinator

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