Matsakis, Dykes Added To Football Staff
December 14, 1999 | Football
Dec. 14, 1999
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach continued to build his first Red Raider coaching staff by naming Manny Matsakis and Sonny Dykes as offensive assistants Tuesday.
Matsakis comes to Tech from Wyoming, where he served as offensive coordinator. Dykes, the son of former Texas Tech head coach Spike Dykes, comes from Kentucky where he coached tight ends.
?I said last week that our first recruiting assignment would be putting together a first class coaching staff and I believe we are well on the way to doing that,? Leach said. ?Manny and Sonny are both talented coaches who are on the same page with what we want to accomplish at Texas Tech.?
Matsakis and Dykes are the second and third members of Leach?s new staff, joining defensive coordinator Greg McMackin. Both Dykes and McMackin will coach in bowl games for Kentucky and Hawaii, respectively, before joining the Tech staff full time.
Matsakis will serve as assistant head coach and special teams coordinator, as well as acting as a special assistant on the offense. He will not serve as offensive coordinator. Leach will handle those duties. Dykes will coach wide receivers.
Dykes, a three-year Red Raider baseball letterman, coached tight ends at Kentucky last season. His tight end, Jason Whalen, earned first-team All-America acclaim after catching 90 passes for 1,019 yards and 10 touchdowns. Whalen led the nation for tight ends in all three categories.
Under Matsakis? direction the Wyoming offense ranked second in the Mountain West Conference and in the top 30 nationally passing at 247.8 yards per game. The Cowboys were third in the MWC in total offense (395.1) and third in scoring offense (29.5).
Previous coaching stops for Matsakis include being head coach at Emporia State (1995-98), offensive coordinator at Hofstra (1991-93), as well as two stops at Kansas State where he coached receivers (1988-91) and special teams (1994).
Dykes? coaching stops include passing game coordinator at Navarro Junior College (1996), receivers at Northeast Louisiana (1998) and two stops at Kentucky (1997 and 1999) where he coached tight ends.