Texas Tech’s had a lot of football prosperity in its first 90 seasons, best illustrated by the fact five Red Raiders coaches posted seasons with double-digit wins.
Sustaining the prosperity has been another story.
Coaching turnover, often precipitated by tumult, has cropped up in some of the best times. The Jim Carlen era (1970-74) is another example. Carlen’s teams went to four bowls in five years, including an 11-1 season in 1973 and a couple of 8-4 campaigns.
But his tenure ended prematurely. Emboldened perhaps by his teams’ success, Carlen set his sights on being athletic director in addition to head coach.