If Texas Tech fires head coach Kliff Kingsbury, the Red Raiders will "look seriously" at Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
"I'll be very surprised if Kliff Kingsbury survives this season at Texas Tech," Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman tweeted on Thursday. "Source tells me if he's fired, Tech will look seriously at Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables."
Kingsbury enters Texas Tech's regular-season finale (vs. Baylor) with a 5-6 record this season and 35-39 mark in six seasons at his alma mater. Since going 8-5 in 2013, his first year after replacing Tommy Tuberville, the former Red Raiders' quarterback is just 27-35, including 15-29 in the Big 12. He's never finished above .500 in the conference (or finished above fifth) and has failed to win more than six games in three of his first five seasons.
This year, Texas Tech has lost to the conference's top four teams — Iowa State, Oklahoma and Texas, West Virginia — by a total of 29 points. They did, however, fail to score a touchdown in a Week 12 loss to Kansas State, their first game without an offensive touchdown since 2006.
If Kingsbury is fired, would Brent Venables want that job? How many people in the world know the answer to that question? You could probably count them on one hand. For what it's worth, the seventh-year Clemson assistant has reportedly been offered other head-coaching jobs, including Arkansas last year.
“Again, you never say never, but man, it doesn’t get much better, if at all, than what we have [at Clemson]," Venables said last December. "Like I said, I’m thankful for what I have and I just have a very good perspective on what we have. There are thousands of guys that would love just the opportunity to be a very small part of this program, so it’s a great situation.”
If Texas Tech does make a change and Venables isn't hired, other speculation has focused on Seth Littrell, Neal Brown, Mike Norvell, Geoff Collins, Jason Candle and others.
