Counting down the worst Texas Tech coaches of the Big 12 era

No. 6: Tommy Tuberville

The reason Tommy Tuberville finds his way onto this list is not because of what his teams did on the field.  Rather, it is because of the damage he did to the program outside of the lines.

In his three years, Tuberville went 20-17 overall.  That’s good for a .541 winning percentage.  What’s more, he did take Tech to two bowl games with his team winning each.

Of course, he wasn’t around for the second one and that’s part of why he’s so hated in West Texas.  Everyone will always remember that Tuberville jumped town at the first opportunity leaving a recruiting dinner to take the Cincinnati job.

It was a fitting way for his tumultuous tenure to end.  Tuberville was never a fit at Texas Tech and to be frank, he never really wanted to be in Lubbock and it showed.

Though the results on the field were decent during his time as Tech had an 8-win and a 7-win season during his reign, he had numerous controversies that tainted his reputation.  He was sued for investment fraud in 2012, his wife was investigated for manslaughter after running a red light and striking another vehicle resulting in an 87-year-old man’s death, and of course, there was the incident in which he struck a graduate assistant in the head on the sideline during a game.

What Tuberville needed to do was to be a peacemaker when he arrived amid the fallout from the Mike Leach firing.  But instead, he was another lightning rod who openly complained to the media about the West Texas wind, the lack of an indoor practice facility, and the fans’ continued pining for Leach.

So while he isn’t the worst coach in Texas Tech football history, he might be the most hated (all due respect to David McWilliams).  And because he served to only further widen the gulf between the two sides of a fractured fan base, he certainly belongs on the list of the worst Texas Tech coaches in the Big 12 era.