Now that the Kliff Kingsbury era at Texas Tech is over, let’s take a look at five games that could have helped him save his job if he had been able to come away with victories in any of them.
Kliff Kingsbury is no longer the Texas Tech head football coach. That is a reality that the entire Red Raider community is still trying to come to grips with two days after the news was made official.
While the majority of us wanted to go in a new direction after three-consecutive losing seasons, it was still difficult to see one of the most beloved figures in program history be asked to leave a place he loves. No one enjoyed the way the Kingsbury era ended nor did we enjoy having to watch Kirby Hocutt’s press conference Sunday afternoon in which he had to reign in his emotions when talking about his former head coach.
What makes Kingsbury’s firing especially difficult is the fact that he was not an abject failure. Had Tech been able to get to only two or three wins per season in the past few years, it would have been easier to see Kingsbury shown the door.
But time and time again, Texas Tech appeared to be close to a breakthrough. Certainly, there were plenty of blowouts in the past six seasons (82-27 vs. TCU in 2014 and 66-10 vs. Iowa State in 2016) but more often than not the Red Raiders were in position to win key games only to find a different way to lose each time.
There were opportunities to be had for Kingsbury and his inability to capitalize is what cost him his job. Let’s take a look at five games that could have helped Kliff Kingsbury save his job if he had been able to pull them out.