Andy Kennedy
If recent events have taught us anything it’s that Kennedy might have been a better coach than we thought. Texas Tech will certainly look at a few names with significant head coaching experience and Kennedy certainly fits the bill with this one. He was interim head coach at Cincinnati after assisting Bob Huggins for a number of years and had a solid 12-year stretch leading Ole Miss. Considering the current state of the Rebels program, the Kennedy years now look even more prosperous.
What makes Kennedy an attractive candidate is what he’s done in the last three years since taking over as head coach of UAB, his alma mater. He’s already won 72 games and led the Blazers back to the NCAA Tournament last season, with a chance to repeat the feat with a great conference tournament performance this year. He’s the rare combination of a coach with more than a decade of power conference experience while also leading multiple schools to the Big Dance and being a hot name in coaching circles.
The big question is if Kennedy would leave his alma mater for another shot at a power conference school. He had a good thing going at Ole Miss before flaming out in his final season and could certainly build consistency, but Texas Tech doesn’t want a coach known for NIT runs. Kennedy would have significantly higher expectations than at any previous job, and there’s nothing specifically tying him to the Red Raiders or Big 12 that would make him want to leave Birmingham right now.