College football’s 2019 coaching carousel predictions
3. Texas Tech and West Virginia
Kliff Kingsbury is a Texas Tech legend and a popular figure around Lubbock, Texas. He is from San Antonio, starred under Mike Leach at Texas Tech as a quarterback, and played in the NFL and other pro leagues from 2003-07. He cut his teeth in coaching as the quality control coach at Houston, before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator of the Cougars.
During the 2012 season, Kingsbury was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Texas A&M working with no other than 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel. He then took a promotion to return to Lubbock as head football coach, but has only managed a 30-33 record. Under Kingsbury, the Red Raiders have only qualified for only three bowls, have had only two winning seasons, and has a 1-2 record in bowl games.
Dana Holgorsen wasn’t born in Texas but from all accounts the West Virginia head football coach wants to return to the Long Star State as soon as possible. A Davenport, Iowa, native (like WWE’s Seth Rollins), Dana played his college ball at Iowa Wesleyan before starting his coaching career at Valdosta State (Georgia).
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Holgorsen spent time in Mississippi and North Carolina at lower levels before taking the wide receivers coach position at Texas Tech under Leach. Holgorsen stayed there from 2000-07, before becoming the offensive coordinator at Houston from 2008-09. Mike Gundy then brought Holgorsen on as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State for the 2010 season.
When the West Virginia job opened up for the 2011 season, Dana decided it was the time to cut his teeth as a head football coach and it helped him that the Mountaineers would move from the Big East to his beloved Big 12 after one season.
With the West Virginia job open, Leach can finally escape the perils of Pullman, Wash. He interviewed for the Tennessee Volunteers’ open position in the offseason of 2018 and has openly been courting openings around the college football landscape. He will look to head to more football-focused pastures and the Big 12 and West Virginia will meet those demands.
With his athletic director, Bill Moos now at Nebraska, the quirky Leach doesn’t have the protection at Washington State that he once had. With Alex Grinch departing and the loss of Luke Falk to the NFL, Leach could stumble in 2018 and look for a way out that the Cougars new athletic director will be more willing to let him go.