Texas Tech fires Kingsbury

Texas Tech has fired coach Kliff Kingsbury following a third straight losing season. "I'd like to thank Kliff Kingsbury for his six years of dedication leading our football program," athletic director Kirby Hocutt said in a statement. "He's worked very hard and represented us in a first-class manner." Kingsbury has posted a 35-40 overall record (19-35 in Big 12) over six seasons with the Red Raiders, who dropped a 35-24 decision to Baylor on Saturday. He still had two years remaining on his contract with a $4.2 million buyout. Kingsbury posted a 35-40 overall record (19-35 in Big 12) over six seasons with the Red Raiders, who dropped a 35-24 decision to Baylor on Saturday. He still had two years remaining on his contract with a $4.2 million buyout. The 39-year-old Kingsbury's tenure with Texas Tech began with much promise in 2013 as future No. 1 overall draft pick Baker Mayfield was under center. The team won its first seven games before losing five in a row. Texas Tech juggled three quarterbacks this season as freshman Alan Bowman was sidelined with a collapsed lung. Jett Duffey and McLane Carter also dealt with various injuries. "We had a quarterback playing at an elite level. Really, if you look at Bowman, I don't know if I've ever seen a true freshman play better, and kind of the run he had," Kingsbury told reporters following Saturday's loss. "Just weren't able to recapture kind of how we were rolling, and that's was tough. That's on the coach to make sure whoever's the quarterback, you can maintain that, but that's hard if you lose a guy who's playing at that kind of elite level in this league. It's hard to keep up." Kingsbury served as the offensive coordinator at Houston and Texas A&M prior to taking over at Texas Tech.