Kliff Kingsbury ‘expected’ to join Raiders as offensive coordinator

The Las Vegas Raiders are ‘expected’ to name Kingsbury their offensive coordinator under new head coach Antonio Pierce, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Media.

This will mark Kingsbury’s return to the NFL following his stint with the Arizona Cardinals, where he led the team to a 28-37-1 record in four seasons as head coach.

Kingsbury was named the Cardinals’ head coach in January 2019 and the team drafted quarterback Kyler Murray out of Oklahoma with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft several months later. Despite signing a six-year extension in March 2022, Kingsbury was fired in January 2023 after a disappointing 4-13 campaign.

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Kingsbury reportedly turned down interviews for offensive coordinator positions after his termination and instead opted for a vacation. He ultimately returned to college football for the 2023-24 season, where he served on Lincoln Riley’s staff at USC as a senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach for 2022 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams.

Kingsbury previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Houston (2010–2011) and Texas A&M (2012), where coached Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel. He served as the head coach of his alma mater, Texas Tech (2013–2018), where he coached future Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes from 2014 to 2016.

Kingsbury will join the staff of Pierce, who was named the head coach last month after leading the Raiders to a 5-4 record as the interim head coach following Josh McDaniels’ mid-season firing.