Lincoln Riley says Kliff Kingsbury addition adds a lot to USC's team in 2023
This spring, after previously working as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and Texas Tech Red Raiders, Kliff Kingsbury joined Lincoln Riley’s staff at USC. While in Los Angeles, he will be working as an offensive analyst. In particular, he will be working with the quarterbacks.
As Riley explained during Always College Football, Kingsbury adds a ton to USC in 2023.
“It does a lot, first I’d point to just for the entire team,” Lincoln Riley said. “I mean, a guy that’s been a head coach at both of the collegiate and the professional levels. He’s had to make those decisions and sit in that chair, so he’s been really, extremely helpful for me and I think other members of our staff with his experience level.”
Known for his explosive offenses, Kliff Kingsbury took over as the head coach of his alma mater, Texas Tech, in 2013 and coached there through 2018, compiling a 36-38 record. He was fired but landed the Arizona Cardinals job, which he held from 2019 to 2022, earning a 28-37-1 record.
“It certainly adds a lot to the offensive room,” Riley continued. “We’ve got a lot of really good coaches and I think really good minds in that room and he’s certainly added to it, and just to have that resource for game planning, for how we design practice, for on down to what we do on an individual level that day with the quarterbacks, it’s great to have somebody of his experience and he’s certainly made us better and I look forward to going through this year with him.”
Largely working with the quarterbacks, it’s going to be important for Kliff Kingsbury to have a good relationship with superstar Caleb Williams. Luckily, Williams was excited when the hire was made.
“It’s cool,” Caleb Williams said. “You know, he kind of knows the offense in a way. They’re all from the same coaching tree and, so, it’s cool. I can’t wait to get him here and learn from him because I’ve got big goals and to be at the next level, he’s done it at the highest level. So, being able to learn from him, go on this run, and get all the information from him.”
Lincoln Riley on coaching Caleb Williams
USC returns quarterback Caleb Williams, who won the 2022 Heisman Trophy and is expected to be the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. As Lincoln Riley explained, coaching him is a huge responsibility.
“It’s a great responsibility to coach guys that are really talented who have had some success early on during their career. The thing we stress with Caleb — and it’s not like we’re having to create buy-in — he’s very bought in with our approach,” Riley said.
“For guys like him, he’s probably got a 10-15 year window in terms of the amount of football left. [He’s] on a big climb. You’re going to have individual goals along the way, but this isn’t golf. You only get to play this for so long, so he had better capitalize on those years if he wants to improve.”