Countdown to Kickoff: 13 Days
PREVIOUS COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF ENTRIES: 50 | 49 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42
41 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 |
21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14
Texas Tech's 2016 football season will begin in exactly 14 days with a Sept. 3 kickoff against Stephen F. Austin.
Today, we continue our Countdown to Kickoff series with a notable way the number 14 relates to Red Raider football.
13: Texas Tech has had 13 different head coaches since joining the Southwest Conference in 1960.
The Texas Tech football program has had 13 different head coaches since joining the ranks of big-time football in 1960 with its membership in the Southwest Conference.
DeWitt T. Weaver was the first of this group. He guided the Red Raiders through their final seasons in the Border Conference, their three-year transition seasons of independence and their first year in the SWC. Weaver's run in Texas Tech's new conference was short-lived, as he resigned and gave way to assistant coach J.T. King after posting a 3-6-1 record in 1960.
Under King, the Red Raiders largely tread water, posting an overall 44-45-3 record over the course of his nine seasons at the helm.
While the 1960s were decidedly unremarkable for the Red Raiders, the 1970s represented a major step forward. First under Jim Carlen (1970-74) and then Steve Sloan (1975-77), the program began the decade with a 60-32-2 seven-year run that included two of the best seasons in school history (1973, 1976).
Rex Dockery's tenure (1978-1980) was forgettable, and the less said about Jerry Moore (1981-85) and David McWilliams (1986) the better.
McWilliams' successor, Spike Dykes (1986-99), went on to coach Texas Tech for 14 seasons, leading them through the university's transition to the Big 12 Conference. He remains the longest-tenured head coach in program history and ended his tenure with seven-straight bowl-eligible seasons.
Following Dykes' resignation in 1999, the Red Raiders hired Oklahoma offensive coordinator Mike Leach. He led Texas Tech for the next 10 seasons and surpassed Dykes as the program's all-time winningest coach. Leach was dismissed after the 2009 regular season for insubordination.
Leach's defensive coordinator, Ruffin McNeill, coached the Red Raiders on an interim basis in their 2009 bowl win against Michigan State.
Tommy Tuberville, Leach's full-time replacement, took over in 2010 and posted a 20-17 record for leaving for Cincinnati at the end of the 2012 regular season.
Assistant coach Chris Thomsen led the Red Raiders on an interim basis in their 2012 bowl win over Minnesota.
Former Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury was hired to replace Tuberville and has recorded a 19-19 mark in his three seasons at the helm of the program.
Tomorrow: 12 - We look at Texas Tech's prolific quarterback history.