Kliff Kingsbury is going back to college, as he's accepted a role under Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans coaching staff. His decision to take his coaching talents back to the collegiate level came months after he was fired by the Arizona Cardinals left not a few people surprised, including Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz.

“I was shocked for sure. I'm happy for him,” Ertz said of Kingsbury's return to college, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. The Cardinals star further explained why he was stunned by the news of Kingsbury's USC job. College is college, it's different than the NFL, but I'm excited for him. If he's excited, I'm excited for him.”

Kingsbury was hired by the Cardinals to be the franchise's head coach in 2019. That same year, the Cardinals also welcomed a new quarterback in Kyler Murray, and Kingsbury was then thought to be a great fit as a mentor for the young signal-caller. In four seasons with the Cardinals, Kingsbury was able to lead the team to only one playoff appearance, which was during the 2021 NFL campaign but lost in that lone postseason game in the Wild Card round. After the Cardinals went 4-13 in the 2022 NFL campaign, the team decided to part ways with Kingsbury.

As for Zach Ertz and company, they are now under a new head coach in the form of Jonathan Gannon, who served as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles before accepting the job in Arizona.

In 2022, the Cardinals averaged just 20.0 points and allowed 26.4 points per outing.