Kingsbury gets Tech support
In the celebration of Texas Tech’s 27-23 upset of Texas on Thanksgiving Friday, Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt announced that coach Kliff Kingsbury would return for a sixth season in 2018. Kingsbury hadn’t even heard the news; the media told him a few minutes later.
Now we know why. Hocutt himself had been endorsed.
Hocutt last week agreed to a new contract at Tech, an eight-year, $11.3 million deal that goes through 2025. Some athletic directors save their own skin by firing football coaches. Hocutt didn’t have to face such a decision, as Tech President Lawrence Schovanec clearly is on board with Hocutt.
The new contract is good news for Tech. Hocutt’s name was mentioned with AD openings at Auburn, Arizona, Tennessee, Nebraska and Arkansas. Hocutt, chairman of the College Football Playoff committee, is widely respected. University support for Hocutt, and Hocutt’s support for Kingsbury, gives the Red Raiders much-needed stability.
Tech’s defense made major improvements this season, and that defense will be tested Saturday in the Birmingham Bowl against South Florida.
USF is led by senior quarterback Quinton Flowers, who in the last three seasons has thrown for 67 touchdowns with just 23 interceptions. He’s also rushed for 3,493 yards.
So winning won’t be easy for Tech. But a victory would give the Red Raiders a 7-6 record and inch Kingsbury closer to a .500 record. In five Tech seasons, Kingsbury is 30-32 overall, including 16-29 in the Big 12.
That kind of record eventually will get a coach fired, no matter how much support he has from the administration.