The football offseason contained a lot of coaching carousel questions and plot points. One notable drama revolved around Kliff Kingsbury, who was on Lincoln Riley’s 2023 coaching staff at USC and was expected to land an NFL coordinator job or a college job either as head coach or offensive coordinator. That drama came to an end on Thursday when it was reported that the Las Vegas Raiders had settled on Kingsbury as their choice for offensive coordinator. Raiders Wire has more details.
There had been speculation that the Chicago Bears might be interested in Kingsbury for their offensive coordinator spot, but the Bears chose Seattle Seahawk offensive coordinator Shane Waldron instead. The door was closed to the possibility that Kingsbury would call plays for Caleb Williams in Chicago.
Kingsbury’s move did not affect Caleb Williams, then. Kingsbury’s move to the Raiders might have affected someone else’s future, and by extension, the future of USC’s chief football rival, the UCLA Bruins.
Kingsbury, by getting the Raiders’ offensive coordinator job, prevented Chip Kelly from getting the same job. Raiders Wire picked up reports noting that the Las Vegas franchise interviewed Kelly multiple times for the offensive coordinator vacancy on new coach Antonio Pierce’s staff.
Kingsbury might have prevented Chip Kelly from leaving UCLA, something Bruin fans desperately want to see. Kingsbury might have therefore caused Chip Kelly and UCLA fans to be stuck with each other for another year, though Kelly might still try to land another NFL coordinator job.
Life works in mysterious ways.
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