Matt Wells Fired as Texas Tech HC After 2-Plus Seasons with Program; Had 13-17 Record

The Texas Tech Red Raiders fired head football coach Matt Wells on Monday, the school confirmed in an announcement.

Chris Vannini of The Athletic first reported the decision to part ways with Wells.

Texas Tech is 5-3 on the season following a 25-24 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats and faces the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday.

Wells took over the program prior to the 2019 season and was just 13-17 overall with the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech said offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie will take over as interim head coach.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reported SMU's Sonny Dykes and UTSA's Jeff Traylor are "early names to watch" as potential replacements for the Big 12 program. He also reported former Baylor head coach Art Briles likely will not be a candidate.

The timing of this move is somewhat surprising considering the Red Raiders have shown some improvement this season.

They were just 4-8 in Wells' first season and 4-6 last year, but they already have five wins with four games remaining this season. They also defeated a 6-1 Houston team and led Kansas State by 14 points at halftime before losing the lead in the second half.

Cumbie will have his work cut out for him as the interim despite that progress given that Texas Tech closes with four straight games against nationally ranked foes in Oklahoma, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Baylor.

Still, the opportunity is there for the program to finish with its first winning season since 2015.

As for Wells, he was the head coach of Utah State for six years prior to coming to the Red Raiders and finished with a 44-34 record. His best season was in 2018 when the Aggies went 10-2.