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Kliff Kingsbury, the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, has his team sitting at 9-2 with the best record in the NFC and in the NFL. As one of the most sought-out coaches in the NFL right now, it's no surprise that the Oklahoma Sooners football program has an interest in Kliff Kingsbury. However, it is a bit surprising to hear that Kingsbury didn't shoot down the possibility that he too might have an interest.
When asked about Oklahoma's interest in him, Kingsbury had this response:
We might be reading a little too much into Kingsbury's response, and perhaps he was just being polite in his answer, not wanting to burn any bridges for the future; but you can never completely rule out any possibility in the NFL. Many people are associating Kliff Kingsbury's response to Mike Tomlin's when the Pittsburgh Steelers coach was asked about rumors linking him to USC.
When coaches and players don't offer a straight-forward response, it's only natural for media and fans to think there is a 50/50 chance they will leave for a new team or program. However, the casual football fan may not be aware that Kliff Kingsbury is more likely to be leveraging interest from Oklahoma to get a lucrative contract extension from the Cardinals. Kingsbury has just one year left on his current deal and Arizona would increase the offer if there is a rumor their coach would leave for the NCAA.
While there is hardly a chance that Kliff Kingsbury will leave the best team in the NFL right now to coach college football, Oklahoma are a great spot for a head coach. The Sooners won four Big 12 championships with Lincoln Riley while also going 0-3 in the College Football Playoffs. 2021 was a rough season with quarterback Spencer Rattler having a down year, finishing 10-2 (third in the Big 12) and losing to Oklahoma State in their final regular-season game.
Lincoln Riley has left the Sooners to take the job with USC, but he leaves a top-ranked program (who could join the SEC next season) with a great quarterback in Caleb Williams as Spencer Rattler enters the transfer portal.
Most NFL coaches who leave to coach in the NCAA are either fired from the pro-level or are with a below-average NFL team and offered more money to return to college football. Kliff Kingsbury has the Cardinals poised to be a Super Bowl threat this season as well as for the future. The Cardinals can pay him handsomely after this season, and leaving for the Oklahoma Sooners right now may not appear as the wisest choice.
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