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Texas Tech football: Five jobs that would make sense for Kliff Kingsbury

By Matthew Conner

AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Texas Tech Red Raiders surveys the field as the team arrives before the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 24, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Texas Tech Red Raiders surveys the field as the team arrives before the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 24, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

USC

The hottest rumor concerning Kingsbury has him being linked to USC where embattled head coach Clay Helton fired most of his coaching staff Tuesday.  Many wondered if Helton himself, who is coming off his first losing season in Los Angeles, would survive this year after going just 5-7.

But AD Lynn Swan granted him a reprieve and in a move that we have seen all too often at Texas Tech, he is shaking up his coaching staff in hopes of bringing about significant improvement before he loses his job. Almost immediately upon news of the USC coaching shakeup, rumors began to surface that Kingsbury was sighted in the L.A. area, presumably to interview with the Trojans.

This match would make perfect sense because of Kingsbury’s reputation for developing fantastic quarterbacks.  The future of the USC program is quarterback J.T. Daniels who started this season as a true freshman but who could have still been in high school but who chose to reclassify in order to enroll at USC early.

Daniels had an uneven first go-around through the Pac 12.  He completed just 59.7% of his passes while throwing 10 interceptions and 14 touchdowns.

But on the other hand, he flashed immense talent at times and threw for 2,661 yards while averaging 7.4 yards per attempt.  Finishing the season with back-to-back 300-yard games, Daniels looks to be ready for a significant jump next season and who better to groom him than Kingsbury?

After all, look at what Kingsbury did with true freshman Alan Bowman in 2018.  The former 3-star prospect threw for 2,638 yards, 17 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in just 7 starts while completing almost 70% of his passes.

Throughout his career, Kingsbury has taken three-star prospects like Case Keenum, Johnny Manziel, Davis Webb and Pat Mahomes and turned them into NFL caliber players.  It would be fascinating to see what he could do with a player that was the No. 1 high school QB in the class of 2018 and a former five-star recruit.

One potential drawback for Kingsbury to consider is that Helton will be squarely on the hot seat next year.  If the Trojans underperform again, Kingsbury could find himself in the middle of yet another coaching shakeup.  Still, it would seem to make sense for an offense that ranked just 84th in the nation to bring aboard one of the best offensive minds available.

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