Big 12 Head Football Coaches Ranked: No. 10 – 6

Nov 15, 2014; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Kliff Kingsbury during the game with the Oklahoma Sooners at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

No. 8: Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech

When the shades are off, the designer suits are hung in the closet and the pop culture media has gotten over his movie star looks, Kingsbury still has to face the fact that he has a losing record as a head coach.

As the youngest coach in the conference and the youngest in the FBS when he was hired in 2012, the learning curve has been steep. Kingsbury enters the 2015 season with a 12 – 13 record, and coming off of a 4 – 8 season in 2014 — the worst Texas Tech season in over two decades. Though he has not been dealt an easy hand having to start a true freshman at quarterback in 17 of his 25 career games as head coach.

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The popularity of the former Texas Tech record-setting quarter back is still high in among the Tech faithful, but 2015 will be a pivotal season for the man some have labeled “Coach Bro,” and who has been jokingly referred to as the Anna Kournikova of coaching by other Big 12 coaches.

There is no doubt that Kingsbury’s predecessor Tommy Tuberville left the program in a mess and the fan base divided. But he latter was a big reason Kingsbury was hired as head coach, and to reunite a fan base still reeling from the Mike Leach / Adam James controversy.

Recruits and players claim to love Kingsbury’s laid-back demeanor and GQ persona, but they will not want to play for a program that does not win. The upcoming season will be year three for the anointed savior on the south plains, as the ghost of Tuberville continues to fade. Kingsbury has his footprints all over this program, and now Texas Tech fans expect to see results on the field.