The Coaching Tornado at Texas Tech

Let’s recap, Tommy Tuberville resigned at Texas Tech and was introduced as Cincinnati’s head football coach on Saturday. Offensive Coordinator Neal Brown will coach as OC at Kentucky, and is taking Tech’s former Running Backs Coach Chad Scott with him. Tech’s former Strength and Conditioning Coach Joe Walker is headed to Cincy with Tubs. On December 12, former Texas A&M Offensive Coordinator and former Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury was announced as Texas Tech’s 15^th head football coach.

After Tuberville was hired at Texas Tech in 2009, I was on board to support our new coach, and excited about his recruiting efforts and résumé. Since being hired, he has had great success on the recruiting trail, and coaching staff. The huge wins over OU in 2011, and WVU in 2012 were great to share with my fellow red raiders.  However, after learning about recent events, I am not too keen on Tubs. Tuberville left junior college offensive lineman Devonte Danzey at the dinner table along with other recruits December 7^th while on official visits. 

Also, after watching him at post game press conferences, I did not see the since of persistence or perseverance in his body language or tone that he used to express. I felt as if he was over Texas Tech, and obviously so.  On Friday, he met with Kirby and expressed his dedication to the red raider faithful, and on Saturday, he met with the Texas Tech football team around 11:00 a.m. after calling Tech’s Athletic Director, Kirby Hocutt to inform him, he was leaving for Cincy around 10:30 a.m. He was introduced later that afternoon, one of the quickest turnarounds I have ever witnessed. During the press conference at Cincy, he seemed enthusiastic and happy to start a new chapter in his coaching career.

I am not going to understate how our fan base never welcomed him with open arms, and the comparison between him and Leach would never end. However, to leave a team before a core senior group’s last game of the 2012 season, was a tad bit shady. Even though, we all know we can’t tell future employers when we can take the job they are offering to us, it still was not right.

Majority of red raider fans believe that Kliff Kingsbury can solve our problems. This will be a huge mountain Tech will have to climb, once again.  Kliff was recruited by Sonny Dykes and played a year with him, and played under Mike Leach holding 39 school records, and coached next to Dana Holgerson. Kingsbury was selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2003 draft, however, sustained an arm injury and was waived. He has been on the Saints and Bronco’s practice squads, and made his debut in the fourth quarter of a Broncos game on November 20, 2005. He completes the Texas Tech circle of athletics’ life. His current résumé stands as being a coach at University of Houston, offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, and currently having his QB Johnny Manziel win the Heisman Trophy as a freshman.  

Kingsbury’s résumé as the youngest head coach in college football, 33, is pretty impressive, but it is not a Tuberville résumé nor does he have the connections Tuberville had. He is still young, and this will be his first head coaching position with many coaching staff vacancies to fill and a young team that will have to adjust. Nevertheless, being a red raider myself, I am excited to once again have a united fan base. I do not know how patient this fan base or administration will be with a Texas Tech native? Hopefully, with the talent this team has Texas Tech will be successful. A suggestion I would make would be to move Sonny Cumbie to offensive coordinator, making two former successful Tech QB’s in charge. To bring this event full circle, Kingsbury will coach Michael Brewer in 2013 at QB for Texas Tech who wears the number sixteen, that jersey was also worn by Kliff Kingsbury, the gunslinger QB himself at Texas Tech.

The negative side effects to all of this, will Art Kaufman stay as Tech’s defensive coordinator? Also, this Texas Tech football team still has a bowl game to be played and need not forgotten. There will be eighteen seniors on this football team playing for the last time for Texas Tech. Let us, red raiders, support this team, especially since they have been practicing for the Meineke Car Care Bowl, while this whirlwind of coaching vacancies and recent hire has ensued. Bring on 2013.