Prior to taking the Texas Tech job, Kingsbury was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas A&M University for Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel, a position he assumed in January 2012 after getting his start in coaching at the University of Houston. Kingsbury was named the Footballscoop.com Offensive Coordinator of the Year after directing the Houston Cougar offense to a record breaking offensive season in 2010. In 2008, Kingsbury accepted an entry level coaching position at Houston under Dana Holgorsen where he helped implement a new variation of the "Air Raid" offense adapted from what Kingsbury learned while a quarterback at Texas Tech under head coach Mike Leach.