Texas Tech announced the hiring of Baylor associate head coach and linebackers coach Joey McGuire to their head coaching position effective immediately.
McGuire will not coach in any of Texas Tech's final three games (Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Baylor) as interim coach Sonny Cumbie will finish the season, and should the Red Raiders reach a bowl game, it is Cumbie that would lead them in that game.
Texas Tech is 5-4 and will need to win one of those three games in order to reach bowl eligibility.
The 51-year-old McGuire has never been a head coach above the high school level or served as a coordinator at the college level, so this is somewhat of a risky hire.
McGuire took Cedar Hill high school to three state titles and a runner-up position during his time there from 2003-2016 before moving to Baylor when Matt Rhule was hired as the Bears head coach.
When Rhule moved to the Carolina Panthers, McGuire was one of the finalists for the Baylor job but lost out to Dave Aranda and decided to stay on board with Aranda until his hiring at Tech,
McGuire is noted for his extensive ties with the Texas high school community and part of the reason that McGuire is starting so early in the position is so that he can try to salvage a recruiting class that currently is rated last in the Big 12.
McGuire's ability to recruit Texas and specifically the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area (where Cedar Hill High School is located) was a plus in his candidacy and his popularity with high school coaches is a major plus as Texas Tech attempts to rebuild its recruiting that had lessened significantly from the Mike Leach era through the three coaches in Lubbock since Leach.
McGuire's resume is similar to UTSA coach Jeff Traylor, who has turned the Roadrunners into a Group of Five power and was interviewed by Texas Tech for this job before signing a long-term extension with UTSA.
McGuire could be a home run hire as McGuire brings the type of people skills that will make him a force in recruiting and brings high energy that has been lacking in Lubbock for years.
However, there are always questions when you hire a head coach without experience as the boss and McGuire brings them as well.
No matter how skilled a coach is and no matter how many accolades that you come with, any coach without college head coaching experience is going to have a learning curve- especially if that leap to a power five job.
It's more than coaching, teaching, and recruiting at any college, but particularly at the highest level the overwhelming amount of administrative work as well dealing with boosters and the public demands can make any job of this level immensely frustrating for a coach that has never dealt with these demands before.
This is a gamble on the part of Texas Tech with the inexperience of Joey McGuire at the Division I head coaching level but with McGuire's connections within the state to bolster a program with disadvantages in recruiting already, I can see how this could turn out very well.
It better turn out for the Red Raiders as Tech has turned from a solid program that made bowls every season and was good for seven or eight wins a season into one that has been passed on the Big 12 highway by TCU, Baylor, and perhaps even by future member Houston.
I have a feeling that Lubbock and West Texas may have gotten themselves the energy jolt that the Red Raiders and a desperate fan base needed.
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