With Lincoln Riley’s departure from the University of Oklahoma to become the head coach at the University of Southern California, Oklahoma has expressed interest in Cardinals’ head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
In a Monday afternoon press conference, Kingsbury emphasized his focus on the Cardinals’ upcoming game against the Bears, as Darren Urban of the team website tweets.
“[I] don’t get into those things,” Kingsbury said. “We’re in-season, we’re 9-and-2, just not a topic I want to touch right now.”
Kingsbury does have experience as a head coach at the college level, having spending six years with the Texas Tech University Red Raiders. His combined of 35-40 wasn’t stellar, but he did groom several current NFL players in Lubbock, including Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, DeAndre Washington, and Jakeem Grant.
It does seem a bit unusual that an NFL coach in the midst of an NFC-leading season would even be thinking about moving back to the college ranks. Kingsbury’s lack of a denial is curious, but, in reality, it’s probably a play for extra leverage. With one more year to go on his contract, Kingsbury use OU’s interest to drive his next deal even higher.