Texas Tech football: Kliff Kingsbury reportedly turned down UH job

Former Texas Tech football head coach Kliff Kingsbury has reportedly turned down an offer from Houston to be the Cougars new head coach.

There are few things more intriguing than the annual college football head coaching carousel and this year, the Texas Tech football program has been squarely in the middle of the chaos. Now, it is being reported that former Red Raider head coach Kliff Kingsbury has rejected a new head coaching opportunity in the state of Texas.

Brett McMurphy of Stadium Watch is reporting that Houston recently offered Kingsbury a “lucrative” offer to be their next head coach after firing Major Applewhite Sunday. McMurphy also reports that West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen (the popular choice of Red Raider fans) is the Cougar’s next target.

If this report is true, it certainly raises some questions about where Kingsbury’s head is at concerning his career aspirations. Currently, he is the offensive coordinator at USC being hired December 5th less than two weeks after he was fired by his alma mater.

It is believed that Kingsbury wants to be a head coach again so turning down an opportunity at one of the top non-power 5 programs in the nation seems to be an interesting decision. Perhaps the reports of chaos behind the scenes with the UH program are true and gave Kignsbury reason to stay away.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports recently authored a scathing criticism of the culture at Houston where he insinuated that boosters and administrators have become the “definitive embarrassment of college sports”.

One must wonder if the fact that Houston just fired a coach who at 8-4 just turned in a better season than any Kingsbury ever did at Texas Tech was a deterrent. And if the UH program is being controlled behind the scenes by big money boosters, that would not seem to appeal to the introverted and reclusive Kingsbury who was often criticized for his unwillingness to glad-hand influential backers.

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Then there is the prospect of perhaps earning a shot to run a more high-profile program, such as the one where is is currently employed. USC head coach Clay Helton will enter next season on the hot seat and if he fails to turn things around in LA, it would not be inconceivable that Kingsbury would be a candidate to replace him provided the Trojan offense has a solid season.

Still others believe that Kingsbury has an NFL future. In the days after his firing from Texas Tech, it was reported that he had offers from NFL teams in need of an offensive coordinator.

Many believe that he would be a better fit in professional football where he would not have to worry about the non-football aspects of running a program such as fund raising, recruiting and community engagement. Experts have said that he is one of the best schematic coaches in the game but that it was the other aspects of being a college head coach that kept him from winning at Tech.

And with the spread offense now the rage in the NFL and one of his former pupils, Pat Mahomes, being a favorite to win the league MVP award, Kignsbury certainly seems to have plenty of NFL options. However, his decision to stay in the college ranks seems to indicate that his heart is still on campus.

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Though Kliff Kignsbury is no longer the Texas Tech football head coach, Red Raider fans across the board want him to succeed at his next stop. But many are likely glad that next job won’t be with the Houston Cougars which Tech is set to play again in 2021-22.

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