Did Kliff Kingsbury coach with Lincoln Riley? Former Cardinals HC's collegiate coaching career explored

Kliff Kingsbury is Lincoln Riley’s senior offensive analyst at USC. But the pair have a longer history together that goes back to their days as college students and athletes. The story continued as the two got their respective coaching careers going. The two protagonists of the story have risen as high as anyone can aim in football coaching. However, the two have never coached the same side before 2023.

Riley, after distinguishing himself in assistant coaching roles, took over the reins of the Oklahoma Sooners football team. Whereas, Kingsbury reached as high as the NFL.

But apart from their days together as college football players at Texas Tech, have the paths of these two coaches crossed? To put the question more clearly, prior to Kingsbury’s return to USC, have he and Riley coached on the same side? The answer is 'No.'

Did Kliff Kingsbury coach with Lincoln Riley?

Kliff Kingsbury did not coach with Lincoln Riley until 2023. However, after a disappointing stint with the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL, Kingsbury packed his bags to explore the college football world. Interestingly, he was hired by Riley earlier in 2023.

He got appointed as a senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach at USC, where Riley is the head coach. Prior to his appointment at USC during the post-season, Kingsbury and Riley did not have any history of coaching the same side.

Kingsbury’s coaching career began in 2008, following his retirement as a professional football player. He joined the coaching staff at the University of Houston Cougars football team as the offensive quality control coach. He rose steadily to become the offensive coordinator for the Cougars. He was honored as the 2011 offensive coordinator of the year.

Kliff Kingsbury joined Texas A&M for the 2012 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Kevin Sumlin. There, he coached Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel. His remarkable feat at Texas A&M earned him the 2012 FootballScoop.com Offensive Coordinator of the Year award. He was also a finalist for the Broyles Award.

Kliff Kingsbury was handed his first coaching role by his alma mater, Texas Tech, in Dec. 2012. He spent six seasons coaching the Red Raiders. During this period, his path again crossed with that of Lincoln Riley and produced another chapter in their story as they were Big 12 rivals.

As the head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team, Kingsbury was rivaling Riley, who was first the offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners and later their head coach. Kingsbury left Texas Tech after the 2018 season to join USC as the offensive coordinator. However, he was at the job only for a month.

He left USC to accept the head coaching role with the Arizona Cardinals. After being fired by the Cardinals in Jan. 2023, he is back at USC, reunited with Riley.