Photo: Getty Images
The Las Vegas Raiders are reportedly expected to hire former Arizona Cardinals head coach and current USC Trojans senior offensive analyst Kliff Kingsbury as their new offensive coordinator, sources with knowledge of the situation told NFL Network's Mike Garafolo on Thursday (February 1).
"The #Raiders have locked in on Kliff Kingsbury as their new offensive coordinator. No deal yet but it’s expected to get done. Following a year at USC, the former #AZCardinals head coach returns to the NFL as part of Antonio Pierce’s coaching staff," Garafolo wrote on his X account.
Kingsbury, 44, had previously interviewed for the offensive coordinator position with the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.
Kingsbury was fired by the Cardinals last January, which NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport described as feeling "more like a mutual parting than anything." The 44-year-old had signed an extension running through the 2027 in March 2022, coming off his best season as the Cardinals' head coach since being hired in 2019.
Arizona finished the 2021 season with an 11-6 record for second-place in the NFC West, before being eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card playoff round. The Cardinals had improved their record from the previous season during Kingsbury's past two seasons, finishing with a 5-10-1 record during his first season and 8-8 in 2020.
But the team fell short of expectations in 2022, finishing with a 4-13 record, which was the third worst among all 32 NFL teams and missed the playoffs for the third time in Kingsbury's four-year coaching tenure. Kingsbury, who played quarterback at Texas Tech and as an NFL backup, had previously worked as a quarterbacks coach -- as well as an offensive coordinator -- at Houston and later Texas A&M, as well as the head coach at his alma matter.
Kingsbury is the first major hire made by former NFL linebacker Antonio Pierce, who was promoted as the Raiders' full-time coach after going 5-4 as an interim in 2023.