Utah State head coach Matt Wells argues a call with the officiating crew during the first half of an NCAA football game against Colorado State Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018, in Fort Collins, Colo. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey) ▲ FILE- In this Sept. 29, 2018, file photo, West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen watches during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. The No. 12 Mountaineers and No. 15 Texas Longhorns play Saturday in a game both need to win to keep a share of the conference lead with an eye toward the conference title game in December. (AP Photo/Brad Tollefson, File) ▲ Washington State head coach Mike Leach watches from the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Washington, Friday, Nov. 23, 2018, in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) ▲ Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt, left, congratulates quarterback Justin Herbert after an NCAA college football game against Arizona, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017, in Eugene, Ore. Oregon defeated Arizona 48-28. (AP Photo/Chris Pietsch) ▲ Utah State head coach Matt Wells gives the thumbs up to the game officials in the first half of an NCAA college football game, against Hawaii Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner) ▲ Washington State head coach Mike Leach, center, looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against California in Pullman, Wash., Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Young Kwak) ▲ West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen calls out to his team during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, in Austin, Texas. West Virginia won 42-41. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas) ▲ Memphis head coach Mike Norvell watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against Missouri, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson) ▲

To a generation of Texas Tech football fans, Mike Leach delivered the most vivid memories — many great, some not-so-great, but most unforgettable. Now a development that seemed impossible for the past decade after Leach's acrimonious split with the university in 2009 could move into never-say-never territory.

In the wake of Kliff Kingsbury's dismissal Sunday as the Red Raiders' football coach, two sources told A-J Media that Leach is interested in returning to Tech, and one of the two said a large contingent of donors will lobby athletic director Kirby Hocutt to make it happen.

"The people who are supporting him, it's not just one or two," the source said. "It's like a hoard of people and maybe eight or 10 that are like million-dollar-plus donors. It's some serious folks."

The second source said re-upping with the popular but polarizing Pirate might trigger too much controversy internally and probably would lead Tech to a safer choice.

The most likely candidates to replace Kingsbury, at least as the search begins, include Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt and Utah State coach Matt Wells, according to A-J Media sources. West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables and Memphis coach Mike Norvell also are under consideration.

Two sources told A-J Media the search will not include North Texas coach Seth Littrell, nor is it likely to include Troy coach Neal Brown, both former Red Raiders assistants. They could be looked at but are not thought to be short-list candidates.

Leach and Holgorsen are two faces from a Tech football heyday, Leach having gone 84-43 from 2000-09. The high-water mark came in 2008 with a 10-0 start and a rise to No. 2 in the national rankings before the team lost two of its last three. Holgorsen was a charter member of Leach's staff, staying from 2000-07, and is 61-40 the past eight seasons at West Virginia.

Though Tech appears willing to consider Holgorsen, it's unclear to what degree Hocutt is interested in Holgorsen and whether the interest would be reciprocated, the source said.

Leach, in his seventh year at Washington State, has the Cougars at 10-2 with quarterback Gardner Minshew leading the FBS in passing.

There are all sorts of roadblocks to a Leach-Tech reunion, and the prospect could flame out. Tech owes Kingsbury $4 million in buyout money over the next two years, in addition to paying whomever is hired and presumably funding a new coach's buyout obligation in his current deal.

Leach is making $3.5 million this year, according to USA Today, on a contract agreed upon last December. Kingsbury's contract was paying him $3.7 million this year and was due to reach $4.1 million for 2020.

All told, the obligations could approach or exceed $10 million, though the two sources who described Leach as interested said the money likely would not be an issue.

Just as there are donors pushing for Leach, others are dead set against the man who sued the university after being fired for alleged mistreatment of a player. Leach has periodically railed against Tech since, claiming the university still owes him money — arguments Tech officials reject, citing court decisions in the university's favor.

Last but not least — and perhaps it should be first — among the obstacles: Tech-Leach reunion talk might be a non-starter for Hocutt. Whether the person doing the hiring is interested in Leach is unknown.

The Tech AD has successfully courted donors for such projects as the $48 million Sports Performance Center. But he doesn't shrink from having final say on hiring and firing coaches.

Former Tech athletic director Gerald Myers once said "Kirby's strong" in doing what he thinks best, even when it runs counter to others' wishes.

"Everybody I know who knows him well says he's real strong-willed," the second source said, "but money does talk, especially when you're firing someone (Kingsbury) that you owe lots of money to."

Leavitt, 61, was Hocutt's linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator at Kansas State while working there from 1990-95. He was the first head coach at South Florida and went 95-57 from 1997 through 2009, but he was fired for allegedly striking a player and interfering with the subsequent investigation. He has denied wrongdoing.

After USF, Leavitt went to the San Francisco 49ers as linebackers coach from 2011-14 and has spent two seasons apiece as defensive coordinator at Colorado and Oregon.

Wells, 45, is in his sixth year at Utah State. The Aggies, 10-2 this season, have been ranked as high as No. 14 in The Associated Press Top 25. Before that, starting in 2013, Wells' Utah State teams have gone 9-5, 10-4, 6-7, 3-9 and 6-7.

Holgorsen, 47, has had his West Virginia teams in the national rankings seven of eight years and will make a seventh bowl appearance this season. He was one of Leach's first hires at Tech in 2000, then as an unknown 28-year-old with a resume of lower-division schools.

Venables, 47, has spent the past two decades running defenses at Oklahoma and Clemson after starting out at Kansas State. He was co-defensive coordinator on Oklahoma's 2000-season national championship team and defensive coordinator on Clemson's 2016-season national championship team, winning the Frank Broyles Award that year as the country's top assistant coach. This is his seventh season with the Tigers.

Norvell, 37, is in his third season as head coach at Memphis, where his teams have gone 8-5, 10-3 and 8-4. Before that, Norvell was an assistant at Tulsa, Pittsburgh and Arizona State under Todd Graham, serving as the Sun Devils' offensive coordinator from 2012-15.

Norvell spent much of his childhood in Irving and went to high school at Irving MacArthur and Arlington Grace Prep. He played wide receiver at Central Arkansas, setting a school record for receptions.