As the Texas Tech Red Raiders head to Houston to face off against the Houston Cougars, Shiel Wood is getting an opportunity to meet up with some familiar faces back in the Bayou City. Before he was the defensive coordinator for Joey McGuire and the Red Raiders, Wood was the defensive coordinator for Willie Fritz and the Houston Cougars.
It’s also worth noting that Wood’s time working with Fritz actually extends back a little before their time together at Houston. Wood happened to be the defensive coordinator with Fritz when both were in New Orleans helping lead the Tulane Green Wave.
And now, with Texas Tech meeting up with Fritz and UH this Saturday, Wood is getting a chance to face off against a former employer and an unbeaten Big 12 team all at the same time.
Texas Tech defensive coordinator Shiel Wood explains what working with Houston head coach Willie Fritz meant to his career
In a press conference on Monday, Wood was asked about working with Fritz and what he may have learned from his former boss. Wood took the opportunity to complement Fritz (and also every place he’s had the pleasure of working along the way).
“I’ve enjoyed every place that I’ve worked and have learned a lot from every experience that I’ve had,” Wood said. “I think I would say that I’ve enjoyed working at this place more than any other institution I’ve worked at, although I’ve been here a brief amount of time.”
That’s a pretty high compliment to pay to Texas Tech given that Wood has worked for eight different college football programs in total. But hey, he’s been working his way to get to this point and so far it seems like he’s making a huge difference here in Lubbock.
“Every place that I’ve worked, I’ve enjoyed working with the coaches and the players that I’ve been privileged to work with,” Wood explained.
Texas Tech’s new defensive coordinator also briefly noted some of the organizational leadership lessons he’s learned along the way.
“I think you learn from every situation, different ways that people set things up organizationally, structurally, schematically, as you learn from different coaches that you work with,” Wood said. “My last stop was no exception to that.”