CBS McGuire hire
Texas Tech to hire Baylor assistant Joey McGuire as Red Raiders turn to coach with strong in-state ties
By Shehan Jeyarajah3h ago3 min read
Texas Tech will hire Baylor associate head coach Joey McGuire as its next head coach, a source confirms to CBS Sports. McGuire, a former legendary high school football coach, comes to Lubbock after five years with the Bears. The news was first reported on Monday by the LAJ.
McGuire has been instrumental in Baylor's rebuilds after serving under head coaches Matt Rhule and Dave Aranda. Since a 1-11 record in his first season, the Bears have gone 27-18 with a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game in 2019. Baylor is off to a 7-2 start in 2021 and entered the initial College Football Playoff rankings at No. 12.
McGuire is expected to leave immediately for the new job, sources tell CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd. Baylor still has three regular season games remaining, including a nationally-televised matchup with No. 8 Oklahoma on Saturday. The Bears, coincidentally, play Texas Tech in the season finale on Nov. 27.
The former Texas high school coach is considered one of the state's best recruiters. Outside of a transitional class in 2020 after Rhule left the program, Baylor fielded top-half Big 12 in each of McGuire's seasons. Texas Tech hasn't recruited a top-half Big 12 class since 2015 -- and the two top players in the class transferred before ever contributing. The 2021 Red Raiders recruiting class ranked last in the Big 12.
McGuire will now be tasked with rebuilding a pipeline to Dallas/Fort Worth, one of the nation's most fertile recruiting grounds. There were 23 blue-chip recruits in the class of 2021 from DFW, but Texas Tech didn't land any of them. Only one of the five three-star recruits in Lubbock signed with Texas Tech. Cranking up recruiting is a must as the Big 12 elevates Houston to Power Five status.
McGuire has coached on both sides of the ball during his time in Waco, coaching tight ends in his first two seasons before moving to defensive ends and outside linebackers. His background makes him likely to position himself as of a CEO-style coach with strong coordinators.
Before moving to the collegiate level, McGuire was an elite high school football coach. In 2003, he took over a DFW-based Cedar Hill program that had never won a playoff game and turned them into a three-time state champion. He left for college football after his son, Garret, graduated from Cedar Hill. Garret later walked on at quarterback at Baylor and now works with Rhule on the Carolina Panthers staff.
After Rhule left for the NFL, McGuire was a finalist for the Baylor head coaching job, which ultimately went to Aranda. McGuire was later approached by several other power players -- including Oklahoma -- but opted to help guide Baylor through the transition.
McGuire replaces Matt Wells, who was fired after fewer than three seasons with the program. Wells had a 13-17 record after taking over the program in 2019. Former quarterback Sonny Cumbie is serving as interim head coach.
Texas Tech was rumored to identify both SMU head coach Sonny Dykes and UTSA coach Jeff Traylor early in its search. However, Traylor signed a long-term extension to stay in San Antonio, while Dykes is reportedly mulling between an extension and the TCU job. McGuire, though, ultimately stood out because of his experience in the Big 12 and Texas ties. Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt noted that he wanted to hire a coach that would bring the fan base together; McGuire is known as a unifier.
Making a decision this early is unquestionably tied to giving a new head coach time to wrangle together a recruiting class before the Early Signing Period on Dec. 15. Texas Tech has just nine players committed in a class ranked No. 74 nationally and No. 9 in the Big 12.
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