With the only semi-surprising news (to THIS easy chair quarterback) of the departure of Tommy Tuberville to Cincinnati over the weekend (of course I did not know he would be going to Cincinnati, just "going") the various sports bigmouths immediately began speculating as to who would be Tuberville's replacement. Of the many speculations, two caught my eye immediately. One of them I dismissed immediately; the second seemed the OBVIOUS choice!
Let me dispose of the first speculation...er...first. Some of the more highly regarded sports-mongers immediately "named" Coach Art Briles to the newly-vacated Tech job. Sports writers across the nation jumped on the Briles bandwagon. But in Waco, neither Art Briles nor the Baylor University "powers that be" even raised an eye-brow. Art Briles has brought Baylor back to the old Southwest Conference Days of Glory. His supporters have assured that anyone attempting to "buy out" Coach Briles' contract would have to shell out several fortunes. Surely no one really took this notion seriously!
But, as to speculation number two, Kliff Kingsbury, Texas A&M's offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, the obvious choice, many sports "authorities" dismissed this idea outright. Kingsbury had no experience, they said. He had never been a head coach, they said. Texas Tech would not even CONSIDER him, they said. But, as I write this blog, Kliff Kingsbury has in fact been the head coach at Texas Tech for over an hour! And what a great choice, as far as this easy chair quarterback is concerned.
It was back before "the turn of the century" (I have always wanted to be able to say that!), in 1999, to be exact, that I became a die-hard fan of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. It was in that very year that new Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach took over in Lubbock. Things changed almost immediately, both because of Leach's coaching style, and because of his choice for starting quarterback, a young man from New Braunfels named Kliff Kingsbury. It was only a couple of games into that year's football season that the Red Raiders were reborn. It was a rare combination of a new coach's game strategy and a new quarterback's stunning abilities, both in the air and on the ground. Several football powers were stunned that year, and Texas Tech was once again a nationally recognized football program that even the big boys like Texas, Nebraska, and (blech!) OU suddenly had to take very seriously.
Kingsbury was the first of a string of super quarterbacks under Mike Leach, and himself had some big shoes to fill, taking over the quarterback slot from Sonny Cumbie, a legendary quarterback under Coach Dykes. While at the helm, Kingsbury COMPLETED over a thousand passes and generated over 12,000 yards of total offense. He set numerous school, conference, and NCAA records during his collegiate career. After college, Kingsbury went to play for the New England Patriots as well as in the Canadian Football League. His playing years, both collegiate and professional, have been spectacular. But, as the sports loudmouths said, he lacks experience. Or does he?
After leaving professional football, Kingsbury joined the Houston Cougars coaching staff where he served first as an offensive quality control assistant, and later as offensive coordinator and coach of (you guessed it) quarterbacks. Not surprisingly, Kliff Kingsbury was instrumental in developing the talent of a Houston Cougar quarterback named Case Keenum. Kingsbury left Houston to take over as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Texas A&M. The Aggies' successful debut in the Southeast Conference (such an understatement) is certainly due in part to Kingsbury's talent as an assistant coach. That brings me back to the talking heads' main objection to Kingsbury as a viable candidate for the Tech head coaching job: Lack of experience. From the easy chair wherein I sit, it would seem that Kliff Kingsbury has all the experience required to start as a college team head coach. And the Tech AD agrees with me!
Do I think Kliff will take over the Raiders and there will be no mistakes, that there will be no learning curve? Of course not. But Kliff Kingsbury has the playing experience, the coaching experience, and the personal character it will take to lead the Red Raiders back to the heights they experienced in the pre-Tuberville days. It may take more than one season, of course, and that brings me back to something I said earlier. The suddenness of Tommy Tuberville's departure from Tech, literally during a recruiting dinner, was the only surprise to me. This easy chair quarterback had already pegged on Tuberville's dimming star at Tech. In my opinion, Tuberville's demise was delayed only by Tech's victories this year over the Kansas Jay Hawks and the TCU Horned Frogs, both in overtime. Nonetheless his years at Tech were coming to an end. But the hiring of Kliff Kingsbury was no big surprise. Instead, it was the obvious choice! Guns UP, Raiders! And congrats to Kliff Kingsbury. I wish him the best!
Let me dispose of the first speculation...er...first. Some of the more highly regarded sports-mongers immediately "named" Coach Art Briles to the newly-vacated Tech job. Sports writers across the nation jumped on the Briles bandwagon. But in Waco, neither Art Briles nor the Baylor University "powers that be" even raised an eye-brow. Art Briles has brought Baylor back to the old Southwest Conference Days of Glory. His supporters have assured that anyone attempting to "buy out" Coach Briles' contract would have to shell out several fortunes. Surely no one really took this notion seriously!
But, as to speculation number two, Kliff Kingsbury, Texas A&M's offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, the obvious choice, many sports "authorities" dismissed this idea outright. Kingsbury had no experience, they said. He had never been a head coach, they said. Texas Tech would not even CONSIDER him, they said. But, as I write this blog, Kliff Kingsbury has in fact been the head coach at Texas Tech for over an hour! And what a great choice, as far as this easy chair quarterback is concerned.
It was back before "the turn of the century" (I have always wanted to be able to say that!), in 1999, to be exact, that I became a die-hard fan of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. It was in that very year that new Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach took over in Lubbock. Things changed almost immediately, both because of Leach's coaching style, and because of his choice for starting quarterback, a young man from New Braunfels named Kliff Kingsbury. It was only a couple of games into that year's football season that the Red Raiders were reborn. It was a rare combination of a new coach's game strategy and a new quarterback's stunning abilities, both in the air and on the ground. Several football powers were stunned that year, and Texas Tech was once again a nationally recognized football program that even the big boys like Texas, Nebraska, and (blech!) OU suddenly had to take very seriously.
Kingsbury was the first of a string of super quarterbacks under Mike Leach, and himself had some big shoes to fill, taking over the quarterback slot from Sonny Cumbie, a legendary quarterback under Coach Dykes. While at the helm, Kingsbury COMPLETED over a thousand passes and generated over 12,000 yards of total offense. He set numerous school, conference, and NCAA records during his collegiate career. After college, Kingsbury went to play for the New England Patriots as well as in the Canadian Football League. His playing years, both collegiate and professional, have been spectacular. But, as the sports loudmouths said, he lacks experience. Or does he?
After leaving professional football, Kingsbury joined the Houston Cougars coaching staff where he served first as an offensive quality control assistant, and later as offensive coordinator and coach of (you guessed it) quarterbacks. Not surprisingly, Kliff Kingsbury was instrumental in developing the talent of a Houston Cougar quarterback named Case Keenum. Kingsbury left Houston to take over as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Texas A&M. The Aggies' successful debut in the Southeast Conference (such an understatement) is certainly due in part to Kingsbury's talent as an assistant coach. That brings me back to the talking heads' main objection to Kingsbury as a viable candidate for the Tech head coaching job: Lack of experience. From the easy chair wherein I sit, it would seem that Kliff Kingsbury has all the experience required to start as a college team head coach. And the Tech AD agrees with me!
Do I think Kliff will take over the Raiders and there will be no mistakes, that there will be no learning curve? Of course not. But Kliff Kingsbury has the playing experience, the coaching experience, and the personal character it will take to lead the Red Raiders back to the heights they experienced in the pre-Tuberville days. It may take more than one season, of course, and that brings me back to something I said earlier. The suddenness of Tommy Tuberville's departure from Tech, literally during a recruiting dinner, was the only surprise to me. This easy chair quarterback had already pegged on Tuberville's dimming star at Tech. In my opinion, Tuberville's demise was delayed only by Tech's victories this year over the Kansas Jay Hawks and the TCU Horned Frogs, both in overtime. Nonetheless his years at Tech were coming to an end. But the hiring of Kliff Kingsbury was no big surprise. Instead, it was the obvious choice! Guns UP, Raiders! And congrats to Kliff Kingsbury. I wish him the best!
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