Jets Rumors: Will New York Hire A College Head Coach Like Kliff Kingsbury?

The search for the next New York Jets head coach took a somewhat unexpected turn on Monday. Days after word emerged that the USC Trojans football program would not allow offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury to interview for NFL head coaching jobs, it appears the Jets managed to talk to the young coach anyway, according to college football reporter Bruce Feldman.

Kingsbury reportedly talked to the Jets on Monday, and will talk to the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport. In addition, the Jets have also reportedly spoken to Baylor Bears head coach Matt Rhule about the coaching vacancy.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News said on Monday that two other teams with head coach openings felt the Jets would hire Rhule.

It appears Kingsbury resigned from his post at USC, or at least threatened to resign, so he could talk to NFL teams. He was only hired to run USC’s offense in December, after being fired as the head coach at his alma mater, Texas Tech. He only compiled a 35-40 record in Lubbock, but the 39-year-old has other qualities that could appeal to the Jets.

His offenses routinely finished in the top 25 in scoring in college football, while his defenses were usually closer to the bottom of the rankings. In college, he was credited with the development of quarterbacks like Case Keenum, Johnny Manziel and presumptive NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. He also coached Baker Mayfield at Texas Tech, before the Browns quarterback transferred to Oklahoma.

Rhule, on the other hand, is only 43 and engineered two major turnarounds at the college level as the head coach at Temple and Baylor. After going 2-10 his first year at Temple, the Owls won 10 games two years later. They won another 10 games the following season, marking the first consecutive 10-win seasons in school history.

He then went from 1-11 in his first year at Baylor to 7-6 in his second year.

Both Kingsbury and Rhule are young, offensive-minded coaches who the Jets might think could help with the development of quarterback Sam Darnold. The Darnold factor was also at least partially why some felt former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy would be a favorite for the Jets job.