Texas Tech: Tommy Tuberville Slaps Assistant Coach over Miscommunication

Updated: 6:03 p.m. ET

Early in the third quarter, Texas Tech head coach Tommy Tuberville went off on an assistant after confusion prior to a 4th-and-1 play.

Texas Tech had multiple players on the field before the offense wanted to go for it on 4th-and-1 after failing to move the chains on 3rd-and-5.The play call was unclear and it caused confusion for the players. In fact, one Texas Tech player lined up next to the Red Raiders sideline and came out of bounds right before the snap.

But the officials threw the flag and Texas Tech was guilty of having 12 men on the field. Shortly after the call, Tuberville created a scene on the sidelines that created a lot of buzz among fans.

Tuberville approached his assistant, who must have not done a good job of clearly explaining the plan for the fourth-down play. Tuberville slapped the assistant's hat and headset off.

Texas Tech fans clearly remember Mike Leach and his acts, which resulted in a suspension for him.

Tuberville has every right to be mad. Coaches hate when more than 11 players are on the field. But he has no right to lay a hand on anyone for that. Yell at your assistant all you want. But don't touch him.

Update:

Following the double overtime victory against Kansas, Tuberville was asked about the incident and had this to say for his explanation.

"He (graduate assistant Kevin Oliver) was on the field, and I reached to grab him and pull him off. When I pulled, I missed his shirt and I grabbed his (headset) and his microphone ripped off his head. I was trying to get him off the field. "He's out on the field, and we're trying to get him off. I missed his shoulder, and grabbed his ... . It wasn't anything to it."

Does Tuberville really think people are going to buy that? His assistant was far from the field. The entire incident occurred on the sidelines. An awful explanation on Tuberville's part and bad PR by Texas Tech.

You can certainly expect the media to carry over the incident and ask it again. We'll see if Tuberville answers the same way again.