Why most Texas Tech football fans really don’t want Matt Wells
Wells has no ties to Texas Tech or the state of Texas
The Tommy Tuberville debacle left Texas Tech fans with a complex that we still are not fully recovered from. West Texans are proud people.
Thus, having a carpetbagger come to town and assume the most high-profile job in Lubbock only to openly complain about the area,, both during and after his tenure angered us and caused us to be even more leery of outsiders than we already were.
And do not for one instant believe that Hocutt was immune to those feelings after Tuberville jumped ship for Cincinnati under the cover of darkness. All of the major hires Hocutt made in the wake of the Tuberville era (Kingsbury, Candi Whitaker, Tim Tadlock and Chris Beard) were Texas Tech alums or had spent significant time at Tech.
The only other outsider Hocutt hired, Tubby Smith, also jumped ship in a manner eerily similar to Tuberville’s departure. So forgive us if we are not excited about bringing in another interloper who may come to West Texas only to find that it is not his cup of sweet tea.
Wells was born in South Carolina and has coached at Tulsa, Navy, New Mexico and Louisville in addition to Utah State. None of those locations are culturally, geographically or ideologically similar to West Texas.
What’s more, having spent no time coaching in Texas, he would have built few, if any, recruiting ties in the state which could put him at a huge disadvantage when trying to recruit to a school that already faces significant challenges on the recruiting trail. Certainly, he could make up for that by hiring a staff of assistants well versed in Texas high school football but it would still be better to have a head coach that is connected in the most fertile recruiting ground in the nation.
After all, Hocutt referenced the benefit of being in Texas during Sunday’s press conference. Therefore, it would seem odd for him to hire a coach that may not be prepared to fully capitalize on the riches of in-state talent.
This year’s pool of available candidates includes some fantastic coaches with ties to Texas Tech. Dana Holgorsen, Seth Littrell and Neal Brown have all coached at Tech while Jim Leavitt and Mike Norvell are Texas natives.
The culture of West Texas is both unique and wonderful. But it doesn’t fit everyone. West Texans often have to defend our part of the world to those who don’t get it. So you’ll have to excuse us if we are slow to trust someone who has no ties to the area. Especially someone who wants to come in and lead our pride and joy. After all, the last time we let a carpetbagger do that, he quickly became the most hated man in West Texas since David McWilliams.