Kliff Kingsbury turned down a ton of NFL jobs before signing with Cardinals

NFL: Arizona Cardinals- Kliff Kingsbury Press Conference

It didn’t work out well for Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech, but he somehow managed to land himself another head coaching job — at the NFL level.

Kingsbury was hired to replace Steve Wilks as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, and apparently, that wasn’t the only NFL team that was attempting to land him.

He served as USC’s offensive coordinator for roughly a month toward the end of the 2018 season, and apparently, he was offered jobs by seven NFL teams, according to his agent.

Kingsbury compiled a 35-40 record while at Texas Tech, where he was from 2013-2018. He was relieved of his duties at season’s end, but was hired by USC to be offensive coordinator just weeks later. And now, he’s found his way into the NFL.

It’s no secret that NFL teams are looking for the next Sean McVay, which makes young innovators such as Kingsbury attractive in their eyes, but there’s a high-risk/high-reward scenario involved with naming an unproven 39-year-old as a head coach at the pro level.

Arrow to top