Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury was hailed as the man to lead the Red Raiders back to relevance when he joined the program in 2013.

Kingsbury was one of the hottest names in college football after coaching Johnny Manziel to a Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M. He could have had his pick of major programs, but wanted to head home, to where he set numerous records as a starting collegiate quarterback.

On paper, the hire was impeccable. Texas Tech got the premiere hire in the post-2012 coaching cycle. It brought home one of the most beloved players to ever play under one of the most beloved coaches in Texas Tech history. Everyone was rooting for him to succeed.

Tommy Tuberville quit on Lubbock and on Texas Tech. There was no way in hell hometown hero Kliff Kingsbury would ever do that.

Kliff never did quit on Texas Tech. But six years later, athletic director Kirby Hocutt had to make a difficult – but warranted – decision. Kingsbury’s tenure with the school ended on Sunday. He finished with a 35-40

“From the first day I stepped foot on campus as a freshman, I knew this place was home,” Kingsbury said in a statement. “In my heart, it always will be. This was never just a job to me. Texas Tech was a dream come true and I am sincerely humbled to have worked at a special place that I love so dearly.

“My only regret is that we didn’t get this program to the level that this university and community deserves.”

There were plenty of single-game highs in the Kingsbury era. His propensity for identifying and developing phenomenal quarterbacks was on full display. There’s a reason Kingsbury will almost certainly have his pick of his next offensive coordinator job – college or NFL.

Kingsbury brought two quarterbacks to campus in his first recruiting class. Prosper product Davis Webb threw for just shy of 10,000 yards and 83 touchdowns. He’s now a member of the New York Jets. Lake Travis walk-on Baker Mayfield won Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and went on to win the Heisman Trophy under Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma.

One year later, Kingsbury brought an unknown quarterback from Whitehouse with only two other offers named Patrick Mahomes to campus. All he did was throw for 9,705 yards and 77 touchdowns in just two full-time years as the starting quarterback. Grapevine freshman Alan Bowman seems poised to be next in line.

But while Kingsbury helped produce some of the most productive offenses in school history, it didn’t translate to the win column. The Red Raiders put together some of the worst defenses in college football history, even after hiring highly-touted defensive coordinator David Gibbs.

The recruiting also never impressed, despite the promise of playing in a fun offense for an exciting coach. Texas Tech only mustered one class better than No. 40 nationally. The two best players from that 2015 class – DT Breiden Fehoko and RB Corey Dauphine – both transferred. 

That all came to a head in the 2018 season. The Red Raiders started three different quarterbacks and wasted the best defense of the Kingsbury era. A team that was ranked in the AP Top 25 and could have easily won nine games ended up missing a bowl. Hocutt pointed to that inconsistency in why he made the decision. 

It took Kingsbury multiple years to truly become comfortable as the head coach of a major college football program. Even with his tremendous offensive knowledge and a capable defensive coordinator, Kingsbury was unable to make the roster consistent enough to compete every year in the Big 12.

Kingsbury was given a shot at the ripe, young age of 33 because he fit the accepted mold in Lubbock. Now that the hire failed, Texas Tech has difficult decisions ahead. Do the Red Raiders stick with the air raid, offense-first strategy that brought the program to national relevance? Or do they decide the rest of college football has caught up and try something new?

There are plenty of options on both sides. West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen coached offense under Mike Leach, and has led the Mountaineers to 10 wins twice. Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables and Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt both have ties to Hocutt, and have been rumored for the job.

Utah State coach Matt Wells and Troy coach Neal Brown both bring exciting offensive minds, but still add some innovative elements to the program. Hiring an outside defensive coach and bringing in an offensive coordinator off the Tech tree – Sonny Cumbie or Graham Harrell, perhaps – could also be an attractive option.

Texas Tech isn’t an easy job. Lubbock is a drive from major recruiting grounds in the Metroplex and Houston. The round robin schedule in the Big 12 has consistently exposed depth issues. Next year alone, the Red Raiders have to play on the road against Oklahoma in Norman, West Virginia in Morgantown and Texas in Austin. Nine of the conference’s 10 teams have made a bowl game in the last two years; Tech has to run through all of them.

However, Texas Tech has also won at the highest level before. Just a decade ago, the Red Raiders won 11 games and earned a Cotton Bowl trip. Between 2004 and 2009, the Red Raiders finished ranked in the AP Top 25 five times. It can be done. It just won't be easy. 

“We will be elite in football again,” Hocutt said. “I guarantee you we will be elite in football again. The program has been there before and we will get there again.”

Only time will tell if Hocutt can live up to the promise. This next hire is a critical one.