After another coaching scandal, should Kirby Hocutt face consequences?

After the resignation of softball coach Adrian Gregory amid player mistreatment allegations, it is fair to wonder if Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt should be held responsible for the myriad of issues his athletic department has faced during his tenure.

How many times during the Kirby Hocutt era is Texas Tech going to have to navigate its way through allegations of player mistreatment on the part of one of its head coaches? After Tuesday, we are at three and counting. Now it’s worth asking if the man in charge should face consequences himself instead of just handing them out after the damage has already been done.

The latest Texas Tech head coach to depart the university after being accused of the maltreatment of players is softball coach Adrian Gregory, who was in the midst of a successful rebuilding of a once downtrodden program.

In fact, in 2019 she led her program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and the second-most wins in Tech softball history. But now, she’s just the latest Texas Tech coach to leave her or his post in disgrace during Hocutt’s tenure and all three were Hocutt hires.

The first was Billy Gillespie, who in 2012 resigned as the heat turned up around him following accusations of mistreatment from numerous players who complained directly to Hocutt himself. Though the official reason for Gillespie’s resignation was health concerns, virtually every observer knew that the accusations levied against him were the impetus for his resignation.

Of course, the second such incident came just over a month ago when Lady Raider basketball head coach Marlene Stollings was fired after similar allegations were raised against her. Now, Gregory’s resignation makes a rather unfortunate trifecta for Hocutt and one has to wonder just how long the university will continue to allow this scenario to unfold under his watch.

There was a time when Hocutt seemed untouchable. In fact, as recently as the summer of 2019, his athletic department was coming off of a National Title in men’s track, a National Title Game appearance in men’s basketball, and a College World Series appearance in the same year.

At that time, the thought of Hocutt being in any type of hot water was unfathomable. But just over a year later, the one-time golden boy of NCAA athletic directors is quickly losing his shine.

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In fact, with each passing scandal, the equity he had built up within the fan base by hiring Chris Beard and Tim Tadlock is beginning to dissipate. What’s more, many now believe that the Hocutt era could be entering its final stages.

That’s because there’s more to his job than just producing winning programs. Rather, his first task is to ensure the safety of the student-athletes at Texas Tech and his second task is to uphold the reputation of the university. And far too often, he’s failed at each of those.

It isn’t enough that Hocutt took action after allegations were brought to light. After all, only the most naive among us would believe that either Stollings or Gregory would have been removed had the situations in their respective programs not come to light thanks to an open records request by USA Today.

The fact is that Hocutt should have had a better read on the pulse of those programs. He should have been plugged in well enough to know how his hires were treating the young people in their care. At what point does the mistreatment of Texas Tech athletes and the subsequent public relations hit that comes as a result begin to outweigh the marks that go in the win column?

Speaking of wins, Hocutt is on a bit of a cold streak in that regard too. That’s because the man he hired to lead his department’s most profitable and high-profile program, Matt Wells, went just 4-8 in his debut season and just oversaw a 35-33 near upset at the hands of FCS foe Houston Baptist.

Taking a risk on the wildly unpopular hiring of Wells began the depletion of Hocutt’s equity among the fan base. But at the time, he’d earned the right to hire the man he wanted as head football coach given Beard and Tadlock’s success. However, he spent almost all of that when he brought Wells to town without conducting a proper and thorough search.

Now, he’s no longer playing with house money. In fact, he is as close as he’s ever been to being on the hot seat both with his superiors and with the general fan base.

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At some point, the head coaching misses such as Kliff Kingsbury, Candi Whitaker, and potentially Matt Wells and the player mistreatment scandals of Gillespie, Stollings, and now Gregory have to yield some consequences for the man who brought them all to Lubbock. And one has to wonder if that time is now.

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