Texas Tech football: Rumors link Red Raiders and Brent Venables

Ahead of this week’s regular season finale, rumors are already beginning to surface about who could potentially replace Kliff Kingsbury as head coach of the Texas Tech football team should he be fired.

In the ultimate case of putting the cart before the horse, rumors are beginning to surface about a potential replacement for Texas tech football head coach Kliff Kingsbury despite the fact that he has yet to be relieved of his duties.  One name already being linked to Texas Tech is Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables.

Thursday, long-time Austin American Statesman reporter Kirk Bohls was the first to publicly link Venables and Texas Tech.  In a tweet, Bohls speculated that Texas Tech would target the 47-year-old because of his ties to Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt.

Venables would be a fascinating option for a number of reasons.  A former college teammate of Hocutt’s at Kansas State, he has become one of the top assistant coaches in the NCAA.

From 1999-2003 he was the Co-defensive coordinator at Oklahoma along with Mike Stoops (whose brother was OU head coach Bob Stoops).  When Mike Stoops left Norman to be the head coach at Arizona prior to the 2004 season, Venables became the sole defensive coordinator at OU until he left for Clemson in 2012.

Since taking over at Clemson, Venables has helped build one of the strongest defenses in the nation.  He was named the 2016 recipient of the Broyles Award as the nation’s best assistant coach as he helped the Tigers capture the national title.

He was also named the 2016 Rivals.com recruiter of the year, which is a skill that any head coach must possess.  In 2017, the Clemson defense led the nation in total defense, scoring defense, run defense, and and pass defense and over the last six seasons, the Tigers have recorded the most sacks in the nation.

As a result of his tremendous success, Venables has become one of the highest-paid assistants in the game.  In July of this year, he signed a 5-year, $11.5 million deal which makes him the second-highest paid assistant in the nation behind LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.

An interesting note on the contract though, is that it does not include a buy-out if he leaves for a head coach position at an other school.  But regardless, Tech would have to ante up some serious money to draw Venables away from one of the best jobs in the sport to take over one of the most challenging Power 5 positions.

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It has long been believed that Venables has been in no rush to become a head coach because of his plush job coaching 5-star recruits for a program that has been an annual participant in the college football playoff.  One must wonder if the job at Texas Tech would be enticing enough to lure Venables out of a cushy role that pays him more per year than most college head coaches earn.

"“I really believe that my job is better than a majority of head coaching jobs that are out there …,” Venables said in 2016. “There are not many places where you can have it all. I believe that I have been at a few places I have had it all, and I don’t want to let it go.”"

It is easy to see why Venables would be an attractive option to Hocutt.  Since 2014, the Clemson defense has finished the year ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense every season.  During that same span, the best the Red Raiders have finished in total defense has been No. 105 and in three years, Tech has been in the bottom five nationally.

But if Texas Tech is going to replace Kingsbury, many fans want a coach with head coaching experience, which makes sense given the struggles Kingsbury has endured while learning the ropes as a first-time head coach.  But the difference between Kingsbury and Venables is that Kingsbury had only five seasons as an assistant coach before taking over while Venables is currently in year 23 as an assistant with 19 coming as a defensive coordinator.

Still, many wonder why he has not taken a head coaching job.  Certainly, there have been opportunities.

"“I think he’d be a great head coach,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “I know he’s had opportunities to be head coach. I just don’t think the right opportunity has come along that he’s wanted for whatever reason.”"

There appears to be plenty of interest from Texas Tech and Kirby Hocutt but one must wonder if Venables would see enough in Lubbock to take the plunge into the head coaching waters.  Certainly, if there is an opening, hiring Venables would generate about as much buzz nationally as any candidate the Red Raiders could hope to land.