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Texas Tech football: Matt Wells isn’t only coach to struggle in first year

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Head coach Matt Wells of the Texas Tech Red Raiders exits the team bus in front of the stadium before the college football game against the Iowa State Cyclones on October 19, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Head coach Matt Wells of the Texas Tech Red Raiders exits the team bus in front of the stadium before the college football game against the Iowa State Cyclones on October 19, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Mike Leach got off to a 3-9 start at Washington State

We all remember Mike Leach for the incredible ride he took us on in the 2000s.  But after his unceremonious firing in 2009, he resurfaced at Washington State in 2012 and has since begun doing in Pullman exactly what he did in Lubbock, win tons of games.

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One difference though is that while he got off to a respectable start at Tech in 2000 by going 7-6, at WSU, he stumbled out of the gates to the tune of 3-9.  It’s easy to understand why.

We all know that Leach’s system is rather unique and revolutionary and finding the offensive talent capable of executing the “Air Raid” isn’t as easy as many might think.  When he arrived in Pullman, he didn’t have a star QB in waiting as he did with Kliff Kingsbury when he stepped on campus in Lubbock.

It wasn’t just that Washington State lost a ton of games in 2012, it was that they did so by not scoring points.  In six of the Cougars’ nine losses, Leach’s offense failed to score more than 17 points.

With wins over UNLV and FCS foe Eastern Washington, the only PAC 12 win Leach secured in his debut season at Washington State was over rival Washington, which entered the Apple Cup in the season’s final week ranked No. 25.  Isn’t college football great?

Unlike Gundy and Campbell, Leach’s resurrection job in Pullman took time.  He managed to get to a bowl in 2013 but lost the New Mexico Bowl to Colorado State for a losing record at 6-7.  A year later, he struggled to another 3-9 mark.

But since then, he’s averaged 9.2 wins per season including eleven in 2018.  That’s unheard of success in Pullman, where prior to 2015, there had not been a winning season since 2003.

The journey of “The Pirate” might serve as a cautionary tale for those Red Raider fans that want to run Matt Wells out of town already.  Sometimes it requires patience and foresight to know when to allow the seeds a coach is planting to fully mature before abandoning ship.  Just ask Captain Leach.

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