USC Football should explore NFL options to replace Kliff Kingsbury

Kliff Kingsbury’s career with the USC Football program could come to an end before it even began, causing USC to look for potential replacements.

*EDITOR’S NOTE: Kliff Kingsbury has officially been hired to be the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.*

The USC Football program was set to have a huge addition to the coaching staff when it was announced that former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury was hired as the team’s offensive coordinator.

Now, it seems like there is a very good chance that Kingsbury might not actually coach a single game for the USC Football program despite just being hired.

Kingsbury has garnered interest from various NFL teams looking to fill head coaching vacancies. Kingsbury’s offensive knowledge and the emergence of Patrick Mahomes and the passing barrage has made him even more valuable as a commodity.

USC originally blocked NFL teams from talking to Kingsbury, however, the school has now allowed multiple teams to interview Kingsbury to be the head coach. Kingsbury is still the offensive coordinator, however, there is no doubt that he will jump ship if an NFL gig is offered.

That would leave USC with its second offensive coordinator vacancy in two months. Luckily for USC, there are plenty of fired NFL coaches to dip into. Just like they did with Kingsbury after he was fired from Texas Tech, USC can look to bring in one of the many fired head coaches in the NFL.

This should not be the only route that USC explores but there are several options that would do the offensive coordinator position justice. For those that were just fired from their NFL gig, the USC job is intriguing because of Clay Helton’s extremely hot seat.

Unless an NFL team offers them a job, it would be extremely smart to head to USC knowing that they would be the next in line for the head coaching gig if Helton is booted.

So, who exactly are the best options of the fired coaches to fill the offensive coordinator position?

Adam Gase jumps out immediately as a good candidate for the job. Gase has NCAA experience at LSU and was a great offensive coordinator and arguably made the Dolphins better than they should have been the last three years.

Mike McCarthy is an outside possibility if no NFL team is interested in employing him. McCarthy would be the perfect example of someone that would be taking the job hoping to take over for Helton the following year.

Fired offensive coordinators Mike McCoy and Nathaniel Hackett could be good shouts as well. Both guys were booted from their jobs because of a poor offensive supporting cast that led to poor results. A change of scenery to the NCAA would be great for both guys.

Regardless of the direction that the USC Football program takes, the school needs to start exploring potential replacements before Kingsbury takes another job, just as a precaution.