OL assistant coach Stephen Hamby being let go was definitely unexpected news today, but the change was made for a variety of reasons, including that Texas Tech feels as if they could upgrade here. It wasn't one specific situation which caused the change but moreso an accumulation of things going back several weeks. Someone else pointed this out in another thread, but during the recent contact period Texas Tech had senior offensive analyst Kirk Bryant on the road recruiting in Hamby's place.
The staff understands how important this position is and will get it right. This isn't the end-all, be-all, but Hamby made $320,000 this season. That's certainly good money for most professions but it had him towards the bottom of the Big 12 offensive line coaches. Don't expect money to be an issue this go around if they find the right candidate.
A few names that we can connect to this job based on previous experiences and/or connections.
... Josh Cochran, Texas Tech, TE's coach
Cochran was a big time OL recruit out of Hallsville high school, Rivals250 kid who signed with Texas. Injuries forced him to retire but he was a talented tackle prospect for sure. He's now the TE's coach at Texas Tech but before arriving in Lubbock was the offensive line coach at Austin Peay. He was also the offensive line GA at Baylor in 2017/18, and was the OL coach at East Texas Baptist prior to that. Could Cochran switch positions and then Tech goes out and gets another TE's coach in his place? I wouldn't say it's the favorite but it's a possibility.
... Randy Clements, North Carolina, OL coach
Clements should be a name familiar to most of you guys as he was at Baylor from 2008-16 under Art Briles where they had a ton of offensive success. Since then he's bounced around a bit with stops at Southeastern University, Houston, Florida State, Ole Miss, UNT and now North Carolina. A native of Wichita Falls, Texas who graduated from SFA, Clements is Texas through and through and would make a lot of sense for a return home. He's 57 years old and made $600,000 at UNC last season.
... Zach Yenser, unemployed (prev. Kentucky), OL coach
An interesting name here as Yenser was just recently let go last week after Kentucky hired Alabama's offensive line coach who was not retained following Nick Saban's retirement. Yenser definitely has the resume. He spent the last two years at Kentucky, prior to that he was with the San Francisco 49ers for three years, SMU in 2018, Kansas from 2015-17, California from 2013-14 and Louisiana Tech before that.
He coached with Texas Tech assistant head coach Kenny Perry for all three years during his stop at Kansas. He was also under Sonny Dykes at both Louisiana Tech and California. Yenser made $650,000 last season but obviously does not currently have a job. Kentucky's offensive coordinator recently got the OC job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and there are some rumors Yenser could go with him.
... Clay McGuire, Washington State, OL coach
Another name who should be familiar, McGuire played at Texas Tech and was an assistant coach in Lubbock from 2007-2009 and again in 2018. He's now at Washington State after stops at USC (2021) and Texas State (2019/20). McGuire made $500,000 last season. You would think he would welcome the opportunity to come back to West Texas.
I expect there to be more candidates than the four names above, including some I cannot name this second, but that's a solid start. If you remember back to last off-season, Joey McGuire replaced Emmett Jones with Juice Johnson in about 24 hours. I don't know if I expect this search to be over that quickly, but I also wouldn't be surprised if this gets wrapped up in a relatively short order.
The staff understands how important this position is and will get it right. This isn't the end-all, be-all, but Hamby made $320,000 this season. That's certainly good money for most professions but it had him towards the bottom of the Big 12 offensive line coaches. Don't expect money to be an issue this go around if they find the right candidate.
A few names that we can connect to this job based on previous experiences and/or connections.
... Josh Cochran, Texas Tech, TE's coach
Cochran was a big time OL recruit out of Hallsville high school, Rivals250 kid who signed with Texas. Injuries forced him to retire but he was a talented tackle prospect for sure. He's now the TE's coach at Texas Tech but before arriving in Lubbock was the offensive line coach at Austin Peay. He was also the offensive line GA at Baylor in 2017/18, and was the OL coach at East Texas Baptist prior to that. Could Cochran switch positions and then Tech goes out and gets another TE's coach in his place? I wouldn't say it's the favorite but it's a possibility.
... Randy Clements, North Carolina, OL coach
Clements should be a name familiar to most of you guys as he was at Baylor from 2008-16 under Art Briles where they had a ton of offensive success. Since then he's bounced around a bit with stops at Southeastern University, Houston, Florida State, Ole Miss, UNT and now North Carolina. A native of Wichita Falls, Texas who graduated from SFA, Clements is Texas through and through and would make a lot of sense for a return home. He's 57 years old and made $600,000 at UNC last season.
... Zach Yenser, unemployed (prev. Kentucky), OL coach
An interesting name here as Yenser was just recently let go last week after Kentucky hired Alabama's offensive line coach who was not retained following Nick Saban's retirement. Yenser definitely has the resume. He spent the last two years at Kentucky, prior to that he was with the San Francisco 49ers for three years, SMU in 2018, Kansas from 2015-17, California from 2013-14 and Louisiana Tech before that.
He coached with Texas Tech assistant head coach Kenny Perry for all three years during his stop at Kansas. He was also under Sonny Dykes at both Louisiana Tech and California. Yenser made $650,000 last season but obviously does not currently have a job. Kentucky's offensive coordinator recently got the OC job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and there are some rumors Yenser could go with him.
... Clay McGuire, Washington State, OL coach
Another name who should be familiar, McGuire played at Texas Tech and was an assistant coach in Lubbock from 2007-2009 and again in 2018. He's now at Washington State after stops at USC (2021) and Texas State (2019/20). McGuire made $500,000 last season. You would think he would welcome the opportunity to come back to West Texas.
I expect there to be more candidates than the four names above, including some I cannot name this second, but that's a solid start. If you remember back to last off-season, Joey McGuire replaced Emmett Jones with Juice Johnson in about 24 hours. I don't know if I expect this search to be over that quickly, but I also wouldn't be surprised if this gets wrapped up in a relatively short order.
