Chris Klieman: Matt Wells' dismissal at Texas Tech 'a bad deal'

Oct. 27—On a number of occasions the past few years, Kansas State's Chris Klieman has called Matt Wells one of his closest friends in the coaching profession.

One link they shared — that of being an active Big 12 head coach — was severed Monday. Texas Tech dismissed Wells just past the midway of his third season leading the program. Wells was 13-17 overall, and only 7-16 in conference games; he never won back-to-back contests in league play. Among Red Raider head coaches who spent more than one season in charge, Wells' .433 winning percentage is the second-worst ever, ranking ahead of only Jerry Moore, who won 30.9% (16-37-2) of his outings from 1981 to 1985. The Red Raiders never made a bowl under Wells, going 4-8 in 2019 and 4-6 in last year's pandemic-shortened season.

Yet Wells had Texas Tech just one win away from reaching bowl eligibility this fall, entering this week 5-3.

Meeting with reporters during his weekly Tuesday press conference, Klieman was disappointed to learn of his friend's firing.

"I don't know all the circumstances, but Matt's a class act and a good friend of mine in the profession," Klieman said. "Sorry to hear it, and it's a bad deal for him. It's a bad deal for the profession. But I don't know all the circumstances."

In an ironic twist, Klieman unwittingly played a role in Wells' demise — simply by doing his job.

They both had their maiden Big 12 campaigns in 2019. In their three matchups, Klieman walked away victorious in all three. The latest came Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. After the Red Raiders jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and held a 24-10 edge at the half, they collapsed. The Wildcats outscored the hosts 15-0 in the final two quarters to leave town with a 25-24 win.

That setback didn't sit well with Texas Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt.

"That was a game we shouldn't have lost. I know it. You know it. Those young men know it," Hocutt said during a news conference Monday. "We shouldn't have lost that game on Saturday, but you are what your record says you are, too, and when you walk off the field and you get beat 25-24, you got beat. But I still believe, line up and play them again, we're the better team."

After this come-from-ahead loss, and looking at Wells' 30-game tenure, Hocutt said he knew it was time to bring in a new voice to guide the Red Raiders' football program.

"There's not a good time to make a decision to make a change like that, but just given where we were and you looked at the full body of work and the program collectively, we felt it was inevitable," said Hocutt, who was a four-year letterman at linebacker for K-State and led the Big 8 Conference in tackles in 1993 playing for Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder. "Today was the day that we wanted to move forward."

Wells couldn't believe the news at 10:30 a.m. Monday, when Hocutt told him he was out of a job.

"He was surprised and obviously didn't agree with the decision," Hocutt said, "but I'll leave it at that."

It was a difficult day, Hocutt said, for all involved.

"But especially for those players," he said. "They didn't sign up for this. It's hard. My heart goes out (to) them. My commitment to them is to make sure we find that missing piece — whatever's missing — to get us to that next level, that's what I'm committed to them to do."

While Hocutt declined to answer any specifics about a hiring timeline or potential candidates, he listed a few qualities he's seeking in his next hire.

The chief attribute: They need to be "a winner" who can get the Red Raiders "over the hump" and back to earning bowl berths year in and year out.

"We need somebody with that determination, knowledge and ability to get this program to that next level," Hocutt said. "We haven't been there in quite some time. We all know it. We get frustrated, because we know what we're capable of. We're not going to back away. I get people who will talk to me about, 'Hey, you use the word elite.' You know what? Yeah, dang right we want to be elite. That's not going to change.

"Are we there now? No, we're not. But that's not going to knock us off that vision. That day when I stop talking like that, that's when we have issues."

Though Wells' stint with the Red Raiders wasn't defined by success, he still owns a winning overall record as a head coach at 57-51. Prior to taking over at Texas Tech, he went 44-34 in six seasons at Utah State from 2013 to 2018. During that stretch, he led the Aggies to four bowl appearances. In his final season at Utah State, the team posted a 10-2 record and finished No. 22 in the final Associated Press poll.

Despite Monday's decision, Hocutt has no ill will toward Wells.

"Matt Wells is a very good man," Hocutt said. "Matt has worked extremely hard and he has done good things here. Matt Wells always operates with integrity and great character, and I wish him only the best in the future."