Joey McGuire
Followed Matt Wells. Joey McGuire moved Texas Tech from National Program II to Power Program III in 5 seasons.
In his own words
Starting with Will, he’s got to do a lot more than Q has as far as leading up to camp, and we don’t hit Will, so there’s a little bit of a difference there
I’m not going to lie, I was holding my breath
I think Q has done a really good job
I think Q’s moment is going to be more that first game
One reason that we fell in love with him, minus all the athletic ability, is he is a football junkie
Jacquies has done a phenomenal job of connecting
He actually looks like Romello Height and David Bailey more than he looks like a guy that’s supposed to be a senior in high school
We’ll buy our contract out of Abilene Christian
We’ve all been in this together
I’m not going to ever change that I’m going have my players’ backs
It’s really easy to tell a mom or a dad that you’re going to be there to help their son grow into the man they’re supposed to be, and then all of a sudden, whenever adversity hits, or something like the situation we had, that you turn your back on them.
I think he could be, I really do
As a society, we’ve been okay with other things that happens and allowing players to play
For some reason, as a society, we’ve been OK with other things that happen and allowing players to play, and this has been the one thing that has united people, that they were against
And so, us even saying to the point before we get to the legal part, that he could be ready in Week 3 against Houston is still a stretch because guess what, he’s still recovering.
He’s recovering from an addiction
We’re willing to buy our contract out of ACU
Career arc
His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.
Reached Power Program in his 4th career season — faster than 37% of the 395 FBS coaches who have ever reached Power Program (rank #215 of 395 by seasons-to-arrival).
Style position and drift
Where each stint’s offense sat between run-first and pass-first, and how far it moved from one season to the next. The band is that stint’s real season-to-season range, not a fixed-width box.
Season-to-season pass-rate range for all 258 FBS coaching stints with at least three covered seasons, 2014–2025.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
3–4 against his rivals. Just 1–2 against Chris Klieman.
His own effect, isolated
A statistical estimate of this coach’s contribution to team performance, separated from that season’s roster talent, returning production, and his coordinators — pooled across his whole head-coaching career.
Model fit as of 2026-09-04.
Coaching career
3rd-best Texas Tech tenure of 15 by the numbers.
Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.
Followed Matt Wells (2019–2021).
| Season | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||
| Record | 8–5 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 12–2 | 0–0 | |
| Postseason | W bowl | W bowl | L bowl | L bowl | — | |
| Recruiting rank | #43 | #28 | #25 | #48 | #18 | |
| Style — pass rate | ||||||
| Pass rate | 52.1 | 49.8 | 53.3 | 47.0 | 42.2 | |
| Coordinators | ||||||
| OC | Zach Kittley | Zach Kittley | Zach Kittley | Mack Leftwich | Mack Leftwich | |
| DC | Tim DeRuyter | Tim DeRuyter | Tim DeRuyter | Shiel Wood | Shiel Wood / Rob Greene | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||||
| Offense | 61 | 31 | 71 | 75 | 43 | |
| Defense | 65 | 63 | 19 | 100 | 77 | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only) | ||||||
| 1st-down pass% | 55.8 | 46.5 | 48.0 | 49.3 | 46.7 | |
| Red-zone pass% | 46.1 | 54.8 | 54.5 | 48.8 | 39.1 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | 59.3 | 48.8 | 37.0 | 30.8 | — | |
A typical amount of portal roster-building.
Brings in bigger-than-position-typical players than most.
Recruits older, more experienced transfers than most.
16 NFL Draft picks: Erik Ezukanma (2022), Dawson Deaton (2022), Tyree Wilson (2023), Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (2024), Myles Cole (2024), Caleb Rogers (2025), Tahj Brooks (2025), David Bailey (2026) + 8 more
5 player-seasons honored (All-America / national award): Tyree Wilson (2022), David Bailey (2025), Lee Hunter (2025), Jacob Rodriguez (2025), Terrance Carter Jr. (2026)
AI Narratives — “Texas Tech's 2025 Season: A Mix of Highs and Lows” and 13 more on the team page.