USC fans got a bit of a flashback Monday afternoon when reports started circulating on social media that Kliff Kingsbury was set to join the Trojans.

Of course, it was back after the 2018 season that Kingsbury was hired as USC's offensive coordinator, lasting about a month in the role before leaving to become the head coach of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.

Kingsbury was fired by the Cardinals in January after going 28-37 over four seasons.

USC official announced on Tuesday that Kingsbury is joining the program as a senior offensive analyst.

"We're excited to officially welcome Kliff to our coaching staff and add another outstanding football mind to our program," coach Lincoln Riley said in a statement.

Kingsbury and Riley both started their rise in college football at Texas Tech, where Kingsbury later spent six seasons as head coach before being let go after the 2018 season, launching that wild sequence of events that December/January.

Kingsbury played at Texas Tech from 1998-2002, overlapping at the end with when Riley arrived as a walk-on QB who would quickly make the move to student assistant under head coach Mike Leach.

Kingsbury is the second notable analyst Riley has brought in this spring, along with Greg Brown on the defensive side. Brown spent 15 years in the NFL, mostly as a defensive backs coach, and extensive time in the college ranks coaching DBs along with stints as a defensive coordinator at Colorado and Charlotte.

Riley spoke earlier this spring about what a coach with Brown's experience adds in an analyst role.

"It can be really valuable to have a guy like that that’s extremely experienced, who’s been responsible for the whole thing, that comes in, can offer a fresh perspective, a fresh set of eyes that’s not solely responsible for one position group. He’s really an overall advisor for the defensive staff, for myself -- he’s a great set of eyes," Riley said. "He’s someone our defensive coaches can sit in there and bounce ideas back and forth off of. And he can give them an open honest opinion that’s not tied to one position. Because coaches are biased, just like we are with our kids. The linebacker coach is always going to see it through the eyes of a linebacker. The D-line coach, when he makes a suggestion, he’s probably not thinking about the corner. He’s thinking about the dudes up front. It’s just how we’re all wired.

"To have a guy who’s not tied to any of those, that can really sit there, day to day, and he can just look at the overall perspective of it, offer up great ideas, it’s invaluable. The hard thing is, we looked at – we vetted several different people on this – it’s hard to find somebody that’s good enough and experienced enough that has the right demeanor to come in and do this. Also, you’ve got to fit well with the staff. Also, you have to fit well within our culture and what we’re trying to build here too. Greg really wanted to be here and just blew us away with his experience and his attitude, and he’s been a great fit. I think he’s going to help us a ton."

Riley will be available to media after practice Tuesday afternoon and will be asked about the Kingsbury addition then.