Texas Tech football: Why we should have tapped the breaks on 2023 hype

McGuire’s lack of a track record should have given Texas Tech fans pause

Why did we all just give Joey McGuire the benefit of the doubt this offseason?  Did we learn nothing from Kliff Kingsbury in 2014?

Remember, that year, Kingsbury was coming off of an 8-5 debut season as a college head coach and had signed a lucrative contract extension in the offseason.  Sound familiar?

However, he would guide his team to just a 4-8 mark in his second campaign in Lubbock.  It appears that the same scenario might be unfolding for McGuire almost a decade later.

We should have known better.  So why did we all just assume that McGuire had the magic touch?

After all, he has no track record as a college head coach.  Sure, his Texas high school state championships are nice but there is no proof that he’s got what it takes to build and sustain a winning program.

Now, in time, he might do just that.  However, until he does, we should look at him with a more skeptical eye than we did this offseason.

It’s hard to be cynical about McGuire though.  His infectious personality and zest for being Texas Tech football head coach endear him to everyone in scarlet and black. Those are qualities Kingsbury lacked, for instance.

It isn’t McGuire’s fault that he has no track record.  He simply has not had the opportunity to build a program yet.

Still, until he does and until he proves that he’s a winner at the college level the way he was at the high school level, we can’t just assume that every move he makes is going to turn up roses.  2023 has been a harsh reminder of that.