Interview with TexasTechTV
LUBBOCK – Former ACU head football coach Chris Thomsen has been named the interim head coach at Texas Tech and will coach the Red Raiders when they take on Minnesota in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas on Dec. 28 in Houston.
Kickoff for the game is set for 8 p.m. at Reliant Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Thomsen – who spent seven seasons as the Wildcats' head coach (2005-11) – will be in charge of the Red Raiders after former head coach Tommy Tuberville resigned Saturday morning to become the head coach at Cincinnati. Also, Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown resigned his position Monday to take the same job at Kentucky.
The Red Raiders are 7-5 going into the bowl game and haven't played since a 52-45 overtime loss to Baylor on Nov. 24 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Tech will resume practices Wednesday for the game against the Gophers (6-6).
The 2012 season was Thomsen's first season on the Red Raiders' staff after leading the Wildcats to a 51-21 record from 2005-11 (61-21 on the field, although 10 wins from the 2007 season were wiped away because of NCAA rules violations).
Thomsen led the Wildcats to six straight NCAA Division II playoff appearances (2006-11), two Lone Star Conference championships (2008 and 2010) and two unbeaten regular-season records (2008 and 2010). He was voted the LSC South Division Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 and was named the American Football Coaches' Association Region IV Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2008.
He resigned his post at ACU last Dec. 16 to accept a job as the running backs coach at Arizona State. However, he resigned that job less than two months later to return to Texas and join Tuberville's staff at Texas Tech.
Under Thomsen's tutelage, Tech's offensive line allowed just 18 sacks in 12 regular-season games and opened holes for a running game that averaged 139.5 yards per game. Quarterback Seth Doege threw for 327.8 yards per game as the Red Raiders averaged 37.8 points and 501.4 yards per game.
