Dana Holgorsen floated among candidates to replace Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech

Kliff Kingsbury has been fired as Texas Tech’s football coach.

The school announced the decision Sunday to part ways with Kingsbury, who has coached the Red Raiders since 2013. Texas Tech had its third straight losing season under Kingsbury in 2018.

The Red Raiders went 5-7 this season, losing the final five games to fall out of bowl eligibility. Tech fell 35-24 to Baylor in the regular-season finale at AT&T Stadium on Saturday.

Kingsbury, 39, had a contract that ran through the 2020 and his buyout is close to $4 million.

Names have already surfaced as possible replacements for Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt to consider.

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal mentioned the school being interested in pursuing West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen, although it’s unknown if Holgorsen has similar interest. The paper also mentioned Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt and Utah State coach Matt Wells as top candidates.

As far as Kingsbury, he should be in high demand as an offensive coordinator for other college programs, as well as NFL teams.

Despite the record, the Red Raiders had a high-powered offense this season. They averaged 485.2 yards a game and 37.3 points.

Kingsbury finishes his tenure at his alma mater with a 35-40 record, including 19-35 in the Big 12.

“I’d like to thank Kliff Kingsbury for his six years of dedication leading our football program,” Hocutt said in a statement. “He’s worked very hard and represented us in a first-class manner.”

This story was originally published November 25, 2018 at 2:18 PM.