After being unceremoniously dumped by Minnesota, Tubby Smith is now in line for another coaching job. Smith has been mentioned as a candidate for the open Texas Tech job.
According to ESPN, the school has contacted Smith about the job. Smith has been rumored to meet with the school on Thursday but that could not be confirmed.
Texas Tech already has met with a handful of other coaches about the job, including Oral Roberts' Scott Sutton, Southern Illinois' Barry Hinson, New Mexico State's Marvin Menzies, Indiana assistant Steve McClain and former UTEP and Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, who is in his first season as director of basketball operations at Kansas.
I would have to say Smith might be the favorite for the job, but is he the man to build a program? I'm not sure if Smith could be patient enough to take over a bottom-feeder in a BCS conference.
Regardless of who takes over the administration at Texas Tech, they will have to be awfully patient to wait for a turnaround. Texas Tech doesn't get the recruits like some of the other schools in the Big 12, so they should hire a program-builder more than a coach.
I do think Smith is a fine coach, but not a good fit for the Red Raiders.