Report: Texas Tech hires Texas A&M OC Kliff Kingsbury as new head coach
Texas A&M Aggies offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury coaches against the LSU Tigers in the first quarter at Kyle Field. (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
The Red Raiders have officially hired former Tech quarterback and current Texas A&M offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury, as the team’s newest head coach.
The Texas Tech athletic department was left scrambling following the sudden, totally unexpected departure of Tommy Tuberville, who literally left three recruits at the dinner table in order to hop on a plane to Cincinnati.
As for Kingsbury, the 33-year old threw 95 touchdown passes as a Texas Tech quarterback from 1998-2002. As a coach, he has been mentored by the likes of West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen and of course A&M head man Kevin Sumlin.
Not only did he serve as the offensive coordinator in College Station but he also served as the team’s quarterbacks coach. He helped turn Johnny Manziel from a wide-eyed first year starter into the first freshman in college football history to win the Heisman Trophy.
Both Holgorsen and Sumlin stressed, according to reports, Kingsbury’s organizational skills and intelligence, despite his lack of head coaching experience at any level.
Not to mention his love for his alma mater.
After accepting the position on Thursday morning, Kingsbury appeared in a video posted online by athletic director Kirby Hocutt. In the video, Kingsbury gave a “Wreck ‘Em Tech” and flashed the program’s ‘Guns Up’ sign for the camera.
Cincinnati reportedly pulled off a coup in snaking Tuberville out from under Tech, but the team’s performance over his three-year tenure does not signify an elite head coach.
In both 2011 and this year, the Red Raiders have limped towards the finish line following big starts. They lost four of their last five games in 2012 and last season they dropped five straight to close the season. The result was the program’s first losing season since 1992. Under Tuberville, Texas Tech did not have a winning Big 12 season.
Kingsbury played and excelled under fired coach Mike Leach, who brought a wide-open, spread offense to Lubbock. After A&M finished third nationally averaging 552 yards per game in 2012, fans can expect a return to what brought the school to national prominence in the first place.
Source: ESPN
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