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

No. 3: Candi Whitaker

We now come to the only person on this list to have the worst winning percentage in a Texas Tech athletic program’s history regardless of qualifiers; Candi Whitaker.

The Red Raider Alum was cut from the same mold as Kliff Kingsbury in that when she was hired in 2013, she was in her early 30s.  But at least she had already been a head coach at UMKC and had been in the coaching game since 2002.

But of course, her experience didn’t translate into wins at Tech.  In her four-plus seasons on the job, she posted a record of 54-82.  That included a paltry mark of 13-61 in the Big 12.

She began her Red Raider coaching career with a 6-24 debut and she never managed to bring home more than 15 wins in a season as he went without a winning season in Lubbock.  But also like Kingsbury, she was allowed to stay on the job far too long.

Both Whitaker and Kingsbury were hand-picked by AD Kirby Hocutt.  Thus, each had unreasonably long leashes and were allowed to remain in charge long past the moment when virtually the entire fan base could read the writing on the wall.

Hocutt has gone to the well of hiring former Red Raiders throughout his career and it’s come with mixed results.  That’s what he did this week when he hired Krista Gerlich to take over the program.  But hopefully, that yields better results for the Lady Raiders this time than it did during the Whitaker era.