Bears' expected interview for OC job has strong connection to potential No 1 pick Caleb Williams: reports
The Chicago Bears are expected to bring in Kliff Kingsbury, the former Arizona Cardinals head coach, to interview for their vacant offensive coordinator post, according to multiple reports.
And it's a significant interview considering where Kingsbury coached last season after being fired from the Cardinals' job after four seasons.
Kingsbury served as the senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach at USC last season, where he worked very close with quarterback Caleb Williams.
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Williams is expected to be in high consideration for the first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, and the Bears own that pick thanks to their trade with the Carolina Panthers last season.
Now, this doesn’t mean that Williams is definitely going to be landing in Chicago in April when the draft begins. GM Ryan Poles has reportedly been taking calls about the first pick while not publicly making a decision about the future of quarterback Justin Fields.
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Meanwhile, Kingsbury’s connection with Williams, if that is the play for the Bears, could go a long way in his early development.
Kingsbury has a history of developing some of the game’s top quarterbacks, most notably Kansas City Chiefs signal-caller Patrick Mahomes during his time at Texas Tech. Kingsbury was also Texas A&M's quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 2012 before becoming Texas Tech's head coach from 2013 to 2018.
Kingsbury’s development history was a main factor in landing his role with the Cardinals, who drafted Kyler Murray first overall in 2019.
While the Cardinals went 11-6 in 2021, the other three seasons under Kingsbury were below .500, including a 4-13 record in the 2022 season. Arizona hired Jonathan Gannon to replace Kingsbury.
While Chicago has conducted interviews with several candidates – Seattle Seahawks’ Shane Waldron and San Francisco 49ers’ Klint Kubiak among them – Kingsbury’s time with the team will be interesting to watch.