NFL Rumors: Kliff Kingsbury 'Leading Candidate' for Commanders OC After Raiders Talks

Goodbye to the Las Vegas Raiders and hello to the Washington Commanders?

That may be the case for Kliff Kingsbury.

After ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Kingsbury took himself out of consideration for the Raiders' offensive coordinator position when contract talks broke down, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported he is "in play for other jobs now, including" the offensive coordinator position in Washington.

Schefter went as far as to call him the "leading candidate" for the Commanders.

He's not the only candidate, though, as NFL reporter Jordan Schultz noted Washington will interview former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson as well.

This has been a rather shocking turn of events regarding Kingsbury, as Schefter was among those who reported he was expected to go to Las Vegas just days ago.

But Washington would be an excellent opportunity for an offensive coordinator, as he will presumably have almost full control on that side of the ball. The NFC East team just hired Dan Quinn as its head coach after he was the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys for the past three seasons.

Quinn is a veteran defensive coach who was also previously the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

The offensive coordinator hire is particularly important for teams that go in a defensive direction with the head coach, which brings the Commanders' opening under the spotlight. It is also important because the front office could look to select its next franchise quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick of the draft.

Kingsbury has worked with several high-profile quarterbacks throughout his career, including Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams.

He was Mahomes' college coach at Texas Tech and worked with Murray when he was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 through 2022. He was also a senior offensive analyst for USC this past season and worked directly with Williams, who could be the No. 1 overall pick of the upcoming draft.

Despite working with so many talented players, Kingsbury hasn't exactly found much success during his coaching career.

Texas Tech went 35-40 from 2013 through 2018 when he was in charge, while the Cardinals went 28-37-1. Even the Trojans went from 11-3 in 2022 when Kingsbury wasn't on the staff to 8-5 in 2023 when he was working with them.

Perhaps he can finally find some success with the Commanders, who are looking to bounce back from a 4-13 season.