Growing up in Lubbock, Mike Smith had a Zach Thomas poster on his wall and got Spike Dykes’ autograph when he was 8 years old. Even when playing and coaching took him far from Lubbock, he was still listening to Texas Tech games on satellite radio.
The lifelong ties made this season especially emotional. Tech assistant coaches Smith and Kevin Curtis, both former Coronado and Red Raiders players who were part of Kliff Kingsbury’s charter staff in 2013, aren’t being retained next year by Kingsbury and defensive coordinator David Gibbs.
Smith said Monday they were told far in advance this would be their last season.