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Report: 'Strong mutual interest' between Cardinals, head coaching target Kliff Kingsbury

Kliff Kingsbury is reportedly a Cardinals target
Posted at 1:34 PM, Jan 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-07 16:16:09-05

USC offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury had reportedly been blocked by his school from interviewing for multiple open NFL head coaching positions, including the Arizona Cardinals' job.

On Monday, two days following a report that Kingsbury could resign from USC in order to interview for NFL jobs, it appears USC athletic director Lynn Swann has changed his mind about allowing Kingsbury to test the NFL waters.

Glazer reported Kingsbury is in the process of interviewing with NFL teams -- a report confirmed by ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. On Saturday, ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio reported Kingsbury might resign from USC in order to explore NFL options, but on Monday, Rapoport said Kingsbury is still employed at USC.

Schefter said the Cardinals and Kingsbury have a "strong mutual interest."

The Cardinals and New York Jets are reportedly interested in Kingsbury, who accepted the USC position in early December, days after being fired as Texas Tech's head football coach. FOX Sports' Bruce Feldman reported the Jets met with Kingsbury on Monday.

The New England Patriots could be interested in Kingsbury at the offensive coordinator position if current offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels takes a head coaching job with another team.

Kingsbury went 35-40 in six years as Texas Tech's head coach. He previously served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Houston and Texas A&M, where he worked under current Arizona Wildcats head coach Kevin Sumlin. He was a quarterback at Texas Tech and spent time as a QB with the Jets, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints.

The Cardinals have also reportedly interviewed, or are scheduled to interview, Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor, Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell, former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell and former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase. ESPN's Adam Schefter told ABC15 sports director Craig Fouhy that Kingsbury, Gase and Taylor are the three candidates to watch closely.

Last week, the Cardinals fired head coach Steve Wilks after his one and only season with the team. The Cardinals finished the 2018 season with an NFL-worst 3-13 record, matching their worst mark since they moved to Arizona in 1988.