Tech hires Baylor aide Joey McGuire as next head coach

With no experience as a college football head coach or coordinator, Joey McGuire appeared to be a long shot to take over at Texas Tech after the dismissal of Matt Wells.

He appeared to be a long shot until the Tech search committee interviewed him, that is.

McGuire, who led Cedar Hill to three UIL state championships before joining the staff at Baylor for the past five seasons, on Monday was named the Red Raiders' next head coach.

"We are excited for this new chapter in Texas Tech football under the direction of coach McGuire," Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt said in the hiring announcement. "Our search committee was impressed from the outset not only with his significant ties throughout the state of Texas but his enthusiasm and desire to serve as the head coach at Texas Tech. We are thrilled to be able to welcome Coach McGuire and his wife Debbie to our Red Raider family."

Tech dismissed Wells on Oct. 25, midway through his third season.

McGuire, 51, will join the Tech athletics department immediately and take charge of the team as soon as the season ends, Tech said. He will be formally introduced in a press conference at noon Tuesday. Fans are invited to attend that event on the club level of the Jones AT&T Stadium west stadium building.

In a statement he posted on social media, McGuire thanked Tech officials for what he called "this tremendous opportunity."

"Having been involved in football in this great state for the last 28 years," he wrote, "I couldn't be more excited to be named the head coach here at Texas Tech. The sport of football is so much about relationships, and I can't wait to build those bonds with our players and all of Red Raider Nation."

Offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie will remain interim head coach for the last three regular-season games and a bowl game if the Red Raiders can reach one. Tech is 5-4, 2-4 in the Big 12 with games remaining the next three Saturdays against Iowa State, Oklahoma State and at Baylor.

Fired: Texas Tech fires Matt Wells eight games into season

Hired: What we know about Joey McGuire, the Baylor assistant expected to be Texas Tech's new head coach

McGuire has been associate head coach and outside linebackers coach for Baylor, which is 7-2 and ranked No. 18 in The Associated Press Top 25 released Sunday. Tech search committee members interviewed McGuire three times between Thursday and Sunday, a source familiar with the process said.

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As head coach at Cedar Hill from 2003 through 2016, McGuire went 141-42 and led the Longhorns to four state-championship games, winning in 2006, 2013 and 2014 and finishing runner-up in 2012. His teams won seven district titles and nine bi-district championships.

McGuire then went to Baylor as a charter member of Matt Rhule's staff, serving as tight ends coach in 2017 and 2018 and as defensive ends coach in 2019. When Rhule left to become head coach of the Carolina Panthers, McGuire stayed on as a member of Dave Aranda's staff, having served as outside linebackers coach in 2020 and 2021.

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He has had the title of associate head coach since 2019.

In three years under Rhule, the Bears went from 1-11 to 7-6 to 11-3 and a Sugar Bowl appearance. They regressed to 2-7 in Aranda's first season last year, but quickly rebounded to become bowl eligible after seven games this year.

McGuire graduated from Crowley High School in 1989 and from UT-Arlington in 1995. He started his career as an assistant at Crowley and Cedar Hill.

McGuire's lack of experience as a college head coach or coordinator makes him a risk to take over a power-five program. Tech will be banking on his people skills — his popularity and connections with Texas high school coaches to improve the Red Raiders' recruiting and his reputation for being a players' coach to help build a successful culture.

"I think Joey’s got a great heart, a real fondness for his players and for the team," Aranda said on Monday. "I think he’s got the ability to connect with people. And I think his care factor is very strong. I think he’s a guy that brings energy and brings a spark and fire to the times when it’s needed. Joey is a ball coach, ball coach. Been a fan of his."

Another coach who has worked with McGuire called him "a people person" and a coach who will "create a culture that's going to last."

"You're going to get a genuine person who really cares," the coach said. "That's why I think everybody loves him, because they can tell he actually cares."

The McGuires' son Garret was a Baylor quarterback from 2017-20. Their daughter Raegan is a Tech graduate.

After announcing Wells' dismissal, Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt formed a search committee of himself, deputy AD Tony Hernandez, Tech System Board of Regents members Cody Campbell and Dusty Womble and former player and current football support staff member Sammy Morris.

As the search began, Hocutt listed three criteria for the next head coach: Be a winner, have deep ties to Texas and Texas recruiting and be someone who will unify the fan base. That fan base, over the past 12 years, has been divided by the firing of Mike Leach, never threw its full support behind Tommy Tuberville or Wells and grew increasingly disgruntled during Kliff Kingsbury's six-year tenure.

Tech fans on message boards and social media pushed for McGuire to be considered. The campaign for him started as far back as a year ago after the Red Raiders had posted back-to-back four-win seasons in Wells' first two years. It intensified over the past two weeks after Tech decided to change coaches.

According to three sources, McGuire likely will go after Carolina Panthers senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach Mike Siravo to be his defensive coordinator. Siravo has coached under Rhule since 2013 at Temple, Baylor and Carolina.

One of the sources said Siravo has a reputation as "an Xs and Os guru on the defensive side" and "a very hard-nosed guy."

Among assistants McGuire might target, the source said, are offensive coordinator Graham Harrell and offensive line coach Clay McGuire from Southern California and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and offensive line coach A.J. Ricker from SMU.

When asked Monday what advice he would give McGuire in becoming a first-time college head coach, Aranda used the term "self-actualization."

"Being true to who you are, number one," he said. "That takes knowing who you are. Two would be, there’s going to be a fair amount — and he’s going to be prepared for it — there’s going to be a whole lot more that you're not. So, having that learner’s mindset, being able to take criticism and take growth opportunities for what they are and to get your ego out of it so that you can get better — because your team will get better."

It appeared the Red Raiders' coaching position would go to Jeff Traylor, coach of unbeaten UT-San Antonio and the Tech search committee's first target. But shortly after interviewing with Tech, Traylor agreed to a new 10-year, $28-million contract to stay at UTSA.

More: Williams column: 2 more interviews coming, 20+ targets analyzed in Texas Tech coach search

According to a source familiar with the search, Tech also interviewed SMU coach Sonny Dykes, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn and Harrell, the latter two both former Tech players.

Among the others given some level of consideration were Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, Liberty coach Hugh Freeze, former Baylor coach Art Briles and Leach.

The committee closely analyzed more than 20 candidates, the source and at least a dozen reached out either directly or through agents expressing interest in the position.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech hires Baylor assistant Joey McGuire as next head coach