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Texas Tech football: What to know about Sonny Cumbie’s time at TCU

By Matthew Conner

AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 22: Offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie of the TCU Horned Frogs watches as Shawn Robinson #3 warms up at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 22: Offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie of the TCU Horned Frogs watches as Shawn Robinson #3 warms up at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 28: Co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie and head coach Gary Patterson of the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on September 28, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 28: Co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie and head coach Gary Patterson of the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on September 28, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

There were too many cooks in the kitchen at TCU

Effective leadership occurs when there is a clear structure at the top of the organization.  That was not the case for Cumbie’s offense at TCU.

From 2014-16, Cumbie was the co-OC splitting chores with Dough Meacham, who called the plays.  But when Meacham left to take over the offense for Kansas from 2017-18, Cumbie was elevated to play-caller.

However, in 2019, Meacham returned to be the inside receivers and tight ends coach for TCU.  What’s more, in 2020, former Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill was hired to be the “head coach for offense” in Fort Worth.

That position was not an on-field role.  Rather, Kill said that his job was to help with the game-planning and schematics and to essentially be a coach to the coaches.

It all adds up to be one jumbled mess and no one outside of the football building at TCU knew who had the loudest voice in the offensive meeting rooms.  What’s more, no one even knows who actually called plays for the Frogs this year.  On the staff with Cumbie this fall was his former co-OC and a former head coach who was supposed to coach the coach that was supposedly in charge of the offense.  That’s not really giving him room to breathe.

What’s more, Gary Patterson is as hands-on as it gets.  Though he’s known for orchestrating his program’s defense, there’s no denying that he lords over the offense as well making certain that his offensive coordinators don’t take too many chances that may put his beloved defense in a precarious spot.

That’s not going to be the case in Lubbock.  This will truly be Cumbie’s offense to run.  To his credit, Wells trusts his coordinators and though he may give them input and help with game-planning, he essentially stays out of the way and lets them call the game as they see fit.

Thus, Cumbie will be the clear leader of this offense.  There will be no former Power 5 head coach here to coach him nor will he have to split responsibilities or play-calling duties with a co-OC.  This will be his show and his opportunity to shine as a coordinator.

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