Lincoln Riley details how Kliff Kingsbury's USC position came together

Lincoln Riley and Kliff Kingsbury only overlapped at Texas Tech for a couple of months more than two decades ago, as Kingsbury was moving onto the NFL after one of the most prolific college football careers by a quarterback and Riley was just joining the Red Raiders in 2002 as a walk-on QB who would quickly segue into a special student assistant role.

They would share plenty of familiarity nonetheless.

It's no coincidence that both would go on to become two of the most successful offensive coaches in college football, taking influence from those Mike Leach Air Raid offenses they learned in Lubbock.

Just as it's no coincidence that Kingsbury, resetting his career after four years as head coach of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, has now found his way to Riley's USC football program to serve as a senior offensive analyst.

"We connected a month or so ago just to check in, just as friends. He ended up coming into town and spending a little bit of time," Riley said. "... I asked Kliff just in kind of passing if it'd be something he'd be interested in and described it to him, and he thought about it for a little bit. I thought it just ended up being a great fit really for both sides. He's obviously got familiarity with our offense, he's got familiarity with a lot of the members on our staff so I think that certainly made sense."

(Kingsbury has at least some familiarity with the campus and football facilities too after spending about a month as USC's offensive coordinator in early 2019 between his firing at Texas Tech and being hired by the Cardinals.)

Yes, it certainly makes sense for USC.

From his time as the co-OC at Houston in 2010-11, OC at Texas A&M in 2012 and head coach at Texas Tech from 2013-18, Kingsbury's offenses ranked 11th, 1st, 3rd, 8th, 10th, 2nd, 1st, 16th and 12th nationally. Starting is final season as the OC at East Carolina in 2014, followed by two seasons as the OC at Oklahoma and the last six years now as a head coach for the Sooners and now Trojans, Riley's offenses have ranked 5th, 7th, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 3rd, 11th, 18th and 3rd.

Riley clearly didn't need any help on that side of the ball, but imagine the offensive strategy sessions with both of those guys collaborating ...

So what will Kingsbury actually be doing as a senior offensive analyst?

"Obviously his experience both on the offensive side will be very helpful in terms of game planning, some of those things that they can do off of the field, to have another set of eyes there is very helpful. And then obviously the added benefit with a guy like Kliff is a guy that's been a head coach at both this level and at the professional level, and somebody that's had to sit in that chair and make those decisions, both whether it's something on game day or it's something just through the course of a normal week, it's always great to have another opinion and sort of an outside perspective that maybe is not tied to one position," Riley said.

The role was filled last year by Will Harriger, who left to become an offensive assistant for the Dallas Cowboys. USC filled a similar role on the defensive side with veteran NFL and college assistant coach Greg Brown.

For Kingsbury, who was not spotted at USC's Tuesday practice, it gives him a chance to stay involved in the game in a less intensive role after spending the last decade as a head coach, while he considers his next move -- be it a coordinator or head coaching job.

As most high-profile analyst roles are, it's likely a short-term union through the 2023 season.

In the meantime, it's a very interesting intersection for Riley and Kingsbury more than two decades after their brief overlap at Texas Tech.

"We've always connected well offensively. At times we competed against each other when he was at Tech so we didn't really talk much ball then. We've been able to do it some as of late when he's been in the NFL. But it's one of those, you don't know if it'll ever time out to get a chance to work together. So I think this'll be a special year for both of us," Riley said. "I know he's really invested in what we're doing and really excited. It's cool that a guy of what he's accomplished in the game, the fact that he wants, past any of the personal relationships, just professionally for the guy, this is not something he's just going to come do just because he likes some of the people here.

"I mean, like, professionally, he sees the opportunity that this is right now. Which is a cool statement for our program, that a guy like that would want to come take this role and help this program take another big step and he recognizes what's going on. So just another, to me, example of where we're headed and another great bit of momentum for our program."

Riley said he and Kingsbury probably had the most conversation in recent years as Kingsbury drafted Riley's Heisman-winning quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in 2019 and coached him in Arizona the last four years.

Kingsbury was let go after going 28-37 with the Cardinals, including one playoff appearance.

"We didn’t cross over much at Texas Tech. Really, we never worked together. He was kind of on the way out as I was on the way in. Kliff is, I think, four years older than me. He obviously kind of jumped off from there and did a really good job at Houston. We competed against him a couple times when he was at Houston, and he did a great job as the OC. Obviously he goes to A&M. Through those years, we stayed in touch but weren’t super close. Had more kind of mutual acquaintances and then got to know him more when we got to the [Big 12] together when I got to OU and he was at Texas Tech," Riley said, expounding on their relationship.

"Obviously, I’d see him before games. We had a chance to communicate some. Then obviously he goes to the NFL, and they draft Kyler, and that immediately opened up a really good line of communication. And we’ve probably been closer in the last few years and had more interactions than we did in all the early years just because of that. So yeah, just seeing it come full circle and having him with us is really good."

Riley was asked if Kingsbury will be able to take any responsibilities off his shoulders.

He said that's the intent of the position but also how he's built his broader football staff, bringing in "guys I have extreme trust in," as he referenced USC football "general manager" Dave Emerick along with Kingsbury and Brown. One could add to that list his longtime director of football operations Clarke Stroud and executive director of football recruiting Annie Hanson.

Lastly, Riley was asked what Leach would think seeing two his most high-profile former pupils now working on the same side?

"I guess I have to go the G-rated version," Riley said, drawing laughs. "He’d really like it. He’d come up with a really clever and probably crude remark to describe it. He’d have a funny take on it, but yeah, I think deep down he’d enjoy it. I think he always took some pride in seeing guys getting together, and I know he’d enjoy it a lot more if we have a lot of success together. So hopefully we can get that done and make that come to fruition."