After two and a half unremarkable seasons, Matt Wells is out as Texas Tech’s head football coach. His career record at Tech was a mere 13-17, but where the real story lies is an abysmal 3-16 record in conference play.
Problems with Matt Wells
Wells always seemed to struggle to get his team locked in for games and make sure they would remain disciplined. Often, the Red Raiders would control a game only to blow it in some ridiculous way. Bad turnovers, poor clock management, and bizarre coaching decisions will be the legacy of the Matt Wells era at Texas Tech. This past week’s game against K-State epitomizes this. The Red Raiders blew a 12-point lead and fell 25-24 to the Wildcats. This game was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Credit Where Credit is Due
Matt Wells was great at getting guys out of the transfer portal, though. That skill may land him another job somewhere. This past off-season, he retooled the entire secondary with guys from the transfer portal; names like Marquis Waters and Rayshad Williams were big gets. The biggest one by far was getting Tyler Shough from Oregon. Shough showed flashes of brilliance before a shoulder injury ended his season.
Possible Replacements for Matt Wells
The Red Raiders now find themselves needing to hire a new coach to follow Matt Wells. Several exciting names on the market, like Jeff Traylor from UTSA, who has completely turned that program around. Another option is if Tech looks deep down into their pockets and tries to get former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron who will be leaving LSU after mutually agreeing with the university, to do so following the end of this season.
Conclusion
To summarize everything, the Matt Wells era of Red Raider football will go down as many very talented teams that would make crucial mistakes at the worst times. What could have been if just a bit more discipline and scouting had taken place? Maybe games like the one against UT in 2020 where the Red Raiders were leading by 15 points with three minutes to go but managed to blow the lead and lose 63-56 in OT don’t happen.
Written by Campus live sports intern Ryan Scott
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