Texas Tech University Athletics
Transcript: Head Football Coach Joey McGuire Introductory Press Conference
Head Football Coach Joey McGuire Introductory Press Conference
Jones AT&T Stadium, West Club Level
12 p.m. | Nov. 9, 2021
Order of speakers:ย
Texas Tech University President,ย Lawrence Schovanec
โI want to thank all of you here today to help us welcome coach Joey McGuire, his wife Debbie, and his daughter Raegan, who was a 2018 Texas Tech graduate.
ย
"Coach, Texas Tech University, and the Red Raider family are special, and you know that and youโve expressed that so well earlier this week when we met. Itโs special because we have a love and a passion for this institution, and thatโs one of the reasons youโre the perfect person to lead this football program and spread the brand of Texas Tech University.
ย
"I want to thank the hiring committee, regent Campbell, regent Womble, Sammy Morris, Tony Hernandez, and I especially appreciate the leadership of our athletic director, Kirby Hocutt, for the great job youโve done. I also want to especially thank and acknowledge the student-athletes on this football team, these are a great group of young men. Coach Cumbie, thank you for being here, you deserve and have our complete support. Football is very important to Texas Tech, it's important to this state, and winning matters and I have no doubt that we have the coach that is going to make that happen.โ
ย
Texas Tech Director of Athletics, Kirby Hocuttย
"Thank you, President Schovanec. Coach McGuire, weโre working for the best president for an athletic director and head football coach in the country. President Schovanec, I appreciate all his support.
ย
"Todayโs a great day, a special day for a couple of reasons. Obviously to say thank you to everybody here, for being here to support Texas Tech Football. And, I have the opportunity to introduce Coach McGuire to you in just a few minutes, but I know with all certainty that after you hear from him, everybody here, and the Red Raider nation will be fired up.
ย
"Iโm not going to be long, but I want to state the second obvious, today is a special day because we tip off the basketball season and the first game under Coach Mark Adams โ Coach Adams thank you for being here. Also, I want to recognize our other head coaches. You know, we got the best group of head coaches in the country. Coach [Greg] Sands is here. Coach Sands thank you. He has a national championship-caliber menโs golf team this year. They could win the whole thing. I heard that Coach [Wes] Kittley is also in the house today, I see him waving Guns up in the back. And he has won a national championship. Thank you for all that you do. Also heard Coach [Tim] Tadlock is in the house. Coach Tadlock, he is truly the absolute best at what he does.
ย
"Like President Schovanec, I want to thank Coach Sonny Cumbie for being here. Everything a Red Raider is about, is Sonny Cumbie, and I appreciate his continued leadership and what he has brought to these young men the last couple of weeks. The energy he has brought into this program has been contagious, ย Sonny thank you for being here. Like President Schovanec, I see a lot of the faces of the young men on this football team. Talented, proven young men. And Coach Cumbie is going to continue to lead them every day until the bowl game. Because there is no doubt that we're going to fight for the rest of the season, weโre not finished playing in three weeks. And I believe in these young men and what they're doing each and every day, and the group of assistant coaches that continue to work with these men, a talented, talented group of men, and appreciate what they continue to do every day.
ย
"I ask you to be here Saturday, and bring your friends, bring your family. We owe it to these young men and Coach Cumbie and this staff to pack this place and give them a home-field advantage at 2:30 on Saturday, and then against Oklahoma State at 7 o'clock in two weeks. Please please, one ask today, is to come out and support these young men.
ย
"Like President Schovanec, I want to say thank you to the search committee who joined me in this process over the past two weeks. These men gave all their time and energy to help us to get to where we are today, and I can't thank them enough for their support, their assistance, and their energy. Regent [Dusty] Womble could not rearrange his schedule to be here but I know he and Alicia are both watching this virtually today and Dusty we thank you for your support and your assistance as always.
ย
"Also thank you to Cody Cambell. Cody, thank you for your time and your energy. I think that was all he did. John thank you for bringing Coach McGuire today, but also I know Cody has probably not done a lot of double legal the last two weeks because of the time and energy. Cody, thank you for being a part of this, and assisting this process.
ย
"Sammy Morris, Stud. Sammy knows so much about football, so many contacts throughout the state of Texas, throughout the country, throughout professional football, and was a tremendous supporter and assistant through thisย process. Tony Hernandez, also one of the best administrators in this country. His contacts and involvement was tremendous, and ultimately we made an unanimous recommendation to President Schovanec that we extend an invitation to Coach McGuire and his family to join us and lead this program forward.
ย
"I also just want to say a quick thank you to another advisor and somebody who gave great counsel and leadership through this to me, and that was Ed Whitaker, a great Redย Raider, but Ed was a part of this process. Ed, I thank you for all that you continue to do for Texas Tech University and Texas Tech Athletics. Chancellor Mitchell wanted to be here today but had a conflict. Chancellor provided a constant steady leadership throughout this process and Chancellor Mitchell thank you for your continued leadership. Chairmen Lewis thank you. Thank you for your steady leadership and Vice Chairmen Griffin for the support that you have lent to this process.
ย
"As a committee, we conducted a very comprehensive search that sought to identify a head coach to do three things. One, not only passionately wanted to be at Texas Tech, somebody who passionately wanted to be here. He asked for the job. But, also shared our belief in this room, and as a Red Raider Nation, and as a search committee, us representing the Red Raider Nation, shared our belief that Texas Tech Football can be at the top of the Big 12 conference. We wanted someone here to lead us to the top of the Big 12 conference. Someone who believes with every fiber in their body that they could help us achieve that. We succeeded in that. Second, we wanted somebody that had the connections and the relationships to build with this locker room. To take these young men forward in their journey to accomplish [goal] number one, but also someone who can penetrate the state of Texas and find the best high school football talent in the state of Texas. No state in our country plays football the way Texas high school football does. And we wanted somebody that had the most connections and knew everybody in the state of Texas, Texas ties. We accomplished that. We had us a night last night, didn't we? We had us a night if you were following social media. There was a lot of chatter, a lot of great things coming Texas Tech footballโs way last night. And then third we wanted to unify the Red Raider nation. We wanted to bring this passionate Red Raider Nation fan base together. We have seen the energy, we've seen the enthusiasm that this community and the Red Raider Nation has for Texas Tech Football this season. It's time to take it a step further and turn up the volume and this Red Raider nation is ready to do that. And we're ready to launch forward and we've found the man, the head coach to lead us as we launch forward and I am excited about that. Debbie, Raegan, welcome back to the Red Raider Nation. It's glad to have you back. We had a chance to meet Debbie Sunday night and it's great to have her here and part of the family. With that and without further delay, please join me and I have a jersey to officially present to our new head football coach, after the bowl game this year, Coach Mcguire. Coach."
ย
Texas Tech Head Football Coach, Joey McGuire
โThis is incredible. My daughter wouldnโt let me forget this if I didnโt start it this way, but we are going to start this thing off rightโฆ RAIDER! (POWER!) RAIDER! (POWER!) โฆ ย Man, I have been waiting all my life to do that.
ย
โI told Cody, donโt think I am soft if I get a little teary-eyed because I am a very passionate person and the other person here that might also get teary-eyed would be my daughter and definitely my dadโฆ I get it from him. I am so excited to be here. This last week has been a blur, and it has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life. On behalf of my family, you are going to get to know all of them because we travel deep. They will be at all of the games, home and away. On behalf of my wife Debbie, my daughter Raegan, who is like we said a Red Raider. We are so honored to be a part of the Raider family. My son couldnโt be here today. He is getting ready to take on Kliff Kingsbury this weekend. The Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals are going to play so he couldnโt be here.
ย
โI will never forget when I moved my daughter in, and of course it was during two-a-days at the time. So we move her into the dorm and thatโs all I needed to do. Decorating is not my forte, so I gave that up to momma and let them decorate the dorm. Garret and I are here, and I said I guarantee they are practicing, letโs see if we can get in. We do, and we stay after and get to talk to some of the players. I got to talk to a dear friend Eric Morris that day. I went up to Kliff and I said my daughters here and I need you. I need you to have her back, thatโs my baby. He was awesome. He said here is my number and whatever you need and Eric did the same thing, but I will never when my son comes up and he about to be a freshman in high school, and said โHey Kliff my name is Garret McGuire and they call me the Kliff Kingsbury of my generation.โ Thatโs how it all started. I want to tell you this, Sonny would tell you, we will probably be working for him someday. I am a storyteller by nature and I am a Texan. Born and raised. I got my Texas socks on. And I think Texans are kind of storytellers by nature so I might tell a couple.
ย
โBefore I get started talking about Texas Tech. I have to talk about my family at Cedar Hill. Thatโs where I started. What a special place. I am a unicorn in coaching. I have now been four places. I was at Crowley [high school] for three years, Cedar Hill for 20, Baylor for five, and I will die here at Texas Tech. I really believe that if you get somewhere and you make it the best, and yโall have already done that. I am so happy to be a part of it.
ย
โI would like to thank Mack Rhoades, for his leadership at Baylor for bringing me in. Coach [Dave] Aranda, for keeping me. But most of all one of my dearest friends, Matt Rhule. He was a guy that convinced me to come to Baylor and man what a great five years. He is one of my best friends, I talk to him all the time. Talked to him before I got on the plane, talked to him before I went to bed last night. I love him to death. At the end of the day, the real people to thank are the players. You are not a very smart coach if you donโt know why you are here. And thatโs because of the players. And all of the guys who have played for me, I love them, and they know that. And you guys who are in this room are going to find that out real quick. Man, I love my guys and thatโs why I have been successful. Surrounded myself with great people and great players and love them and coaching them hard.ย
ย
โI want to thank the committee. Their leadership, you talk first class. President Schovanec, Regent Womble, Regent Campbell, Sammy Morris, Tony [Hernandez] who has been awesome, and our AD, Kirby Hocutt. These guys have a passion and a love for this school. Man, the moment I met them, I already wanted to be a Red Raider, but I have got to be a Red Raider. I have got to get to Lubbock as fast as possible. I thank yโall so much.
ย
โI want to thank the Red Raider Nation man! This is awesome! I have been amazed how you have made us feel at home from yesterday when it was announced. Thank all of yโall for being here today and I cannot wait to be a part of this community of Lubbock. Itโs such an incredible place. I am not going to lie to yโall, but I canโt wait to get to Spankyโs and get some fried cheese I had back in the 1990s.
ย
โI want to echo what Kirby said. If weโre really passionate Red Raider fans and we love this university, we got to show up for this team on Saturday! We got something to prove because this season is not over. I am going to be there in red and black, and I hope I get to see you all there on Saturday.
ย
โKirby said that he wanted to connect the high school coaches, and that is my DNA. I want to thank the THSCA and all the Texas high school coaches for all the support. And I am one of them and I am very proud of that. I am a high school coach that coachโs college football. Itโs not the other way around. Thatโs where my roots are, and I think you saw last night and hopefully in the next few days that is definitely going to pay off for this football team and this program. I canโt wait to get on the road to recruit for this great university.
ย
โOn my phones, I had 993 texts on one and about 575 on the other. And the majority of them I promise you were Texas high school football coaches. They are excited that one of their own is at Texas Tech University.
ย
โI want to start off and you all are going to find out real quick and some of you all know me, I talked to about 10 of you guys last night and got to recruit some of you. You are going to find out real quick that I am all about yโall. I am so grateful for this team, and I cannot wait to meet each and every one of you and build a genuine relationship, because thatโs what itโs going to be. I believe that is the foundation of every great football team. I know we have to have talent, and I know we do. But we are going to build a love for each other. If you can bring the talent, and a genuine relationship and a love for each other, special things can happen. Iโve been a part of them and I believe that. I promise you this guys, the moment my feet hit the ground every single morning, I will be fired up to see you. You will get the same guy. Iโm like the sun, constant. I am always like that!
ย
"I know that they want to win, and I know that you guys want to win. We are going to bring an exciting brand of football. Itโs going to be an explosive offense that Texas Tech is used to, and no doubt Sonny has been a part of it, heโs incredible and I donโt know if you young guys know Sonny and I have been friends for a long time and I love him to death. When I watched his press conference when all this happened, and I just loved his passion that he shows. In that press conference, you can see how much he loves Texas Tech and I really respect that. We are bringing a physical defense. And I want to say this real quickโฆ We are going to play defense in Lubbock!
ย
โYou are going to hear this out of my mouth every single day, and the guys will understand it, we are going to have a brand โ We are going to be the toughest, hardest working, most competitive team in the country. That is our brand. Tough teams are hard to beat.
ย
"I donโt know where we are right now, but I know where weโre going to be. We areย going to be toughest, hardest-working, most competitive team in the country. I believe that if you put a genuine relationship together, a love for each other, and that brand, something special will happen. I believe in West Texas tough, but I also believe that no matter where youโre at in Texas, if we create that brand, we will be a tough team to beat.
ย
"When you talk about being tough, hard-working and competitive โ it means you compete in everything you do. We will compete on and off the field.
ย
โWe are going to be great student-athletes, you are going to hear all the time โbe a pro, be a proโฆโ I want to recruit and develop individuals who can play in the NFL. The league minimum is $660K, thatโs a pretty good starting salary coming out of college. I did not have that. I want to recruit and develop those guys, I want to help develop you, but also if youโre not going to the NFL, I want you to be a pro as a husband, I want you to be a pro as a father, I want you to be a pro as a businessman.
ย
โWe are going to put a staff together that can develop. James Blanchard will be my player personnel, is an absolute rock star. We are putting this staff together that believes in building relationships, and they will not walk in the building if they cannot build a relationship. I donโt care if theyโre greatest Xโs and Oโs mind in the world, if they cannot build relationships, theyโre not walking in the building. Theyโre not going to coach at Texas Tech. Weโre going to build those relationships and develop the players.
ย
"We are going to get the West Texas players, I know that weโve got to recruit everybody, but guys we have to go get the guys who were raised wearing the red, black, and white to stay in the red, black and white. That is important to this staff. We got to keep them home. I canโt wait to get started.ย
ย
โIโm going to end it with this. The fact is, is I donโt want to get up and go to work every day, but I have to. I want to jump out of bed and get to the facilities every day because I get to. I donโt recruit as hard as I do because I have to, I recruit as hard as I do because I get to. I donโt build relationships with people because I have to, I build lifelong friendships because I get to. I donโt coach because I have to, I coach because I get to be a huge part of young menโs lives and help mold and grow them into men of character and value. I donโt take this head coaching job because I thought I had to, I took this coaching job at Texas Tech because I get to go to a place I have always wanted to go. I get to build a staff that I have always wanted to build. I get to be involved in a community that Iโve always loved. I get to be a part of building something special at Texas Tech University. Now it is time to get to workโฆโย
ย
Jones AT&T Stadium, West Club Level
12 p.m. | Nov. 9, 2021
Order of speakers:ย
- Texas Tech University President,ย Lawrence Schovanec
- Texas Tech Director of Athletics, Kirby Hocuttย
- Texas Tech Head Football Coach, Joey McGuire
Texas Tech University President,ย Lawrence Schovanec
โI want to thank all of you here today to help us welcome coach Joey McGuire, his wife Debbie, and his daughter Raegan, who was a 2018 Texas Tech graduate.
ย
"Coach, Texas Tech University, and the Red Raider family are special, and you know that and youโve expressed that so well earlier this week when we met. Itโs special because we have a love and a passion for this institution, and thatโs one of the reasons youโre the perfect person to lead this football program and spread the brand of Texas Tech University.
ย
"I want to thank the hiring committee, regent Campbell, regent Womble, Sammy Morris, Tony Hernandez, and I especially appreciate the leadership of our athletic director, Kirby Hocutt, for the great job youโve done. I also want to especially thank and acknowledge the student-athletes on this football team, these are a great group of young men. Coach Cumbie, thank you for being here, you deserve and have our complete support. Football is very important to Texas Tech, it's important to this state, and winning matters and I have no doubt that we have the coach that is going to make that happen.โ
ย
Texas Tech Director of Athletics, Kirby Hocuttย
"Thank you, President Schovanec. Coach McGuire, weโre working for the best president for an athletic director and head football coach in the country. President Schovanec, I appreciate all his support.
ย
"Todayโs a great day, a special day for a couple of reasons. Obviously to say thank you to everybody here, for being here to support Texas Tech Football. And, I have the opportunity to introduce Coach McGuire to you in just a few minutes, but I know with all certainty that after you hear from him, everybody here, and the Red Raider nation will be fired up.
ย
"Iโm not going to be long, but I want to state the second obvious, today is a special day because we tip off the basketball season and the first game under Coach Mark Adams โ Coach Adams thank you for being here. Also, I want to recognize our other head coaches. You know, we got the best group of head coaches in the country. Coach [Greg] Sands is here. Coach Sands thank you. He has a national championship-caliber menโs golf team this year. They could win the whole thing. I heard that Coach [Wes] Kittley is also in the house today, I see him waving Guns up in the back. And he has won a national championship. Thank you for all that you do. Also heard Coach [Tim] Tadlock is in the house. Coach Tadlock, he is truly the absolute best at what he does.
ย
"Like President Schovanec, I want to thank Coach Sonny Cumbie for being here. Everything a Red Raider is about, is Sonny Cumbie, and I appreciate his continued leadership and what he has brought to these young men the last couple of weeks. The energy he has brought into this program has been contagious, ย Sonny thank you for being here. Like President Schovanec, I see a lot of the faces of the young men on this football team. Talented, proven young men. And Coach Cumbie is going to continue to lead them every day until the bowl game. Because there is no doubt that we're going to fight for the rest of the season, weโre not finished playing in three weeks. And I believe in these young men and what they're doing each and every day, and the group of assistant coaches that continue to work with these men, a talented, talented group of men, and appreciate what they continue to do every day.
ย
"I ask you to be here Saturday, and bring your friends, bring your family. We owe it to these young men and Coach Cumbie and this staff to pack this place and give them a home-field advantage at 2:30 on Saturday, and then against Oklahoma State at 7 o'clock in two weeks. Please please, one ask today, is to come out and support these young men.
ย
"Like President Schovanec, I want to say thank you to the search committee who joined me in this process over the past two weeks. These men gave all their time and energy to help us to get to where we are today, and I can't thank them enough for their support, their assistance, and their energy. Regent [Dusty] Womble could not rearrange his schedule to be here but I know he and Alicia are both watching this virtually today and Dusty we thank you for your support and your assistance as always.
ย
"Also thank you to Cody Cambell. Cody, thank you for your time and your energy. I think that was all he did. John thank you for bringing Coach McGuire today, but also I know Cody has probably not done a lot of double legal the last two weeks because of the time and energy. Cody, thank you for being a part of this, and assisting this process.
ย
"Sammy Morris, Stud. Sammy knows so much about football, so many contacts throughout the state of Texas, throughout the country, throughout professional football, and was a tremendous supporter and assistant through thisย process. Tony Hernandez, also one of the best administrators in this country. His contacts and involvement was tremendous, and ultimately we made an unanimous recommendation to President Schovanec that we extend an invitation to Coach McGuire and his family to join us and lead this program forward.
ย
"I also just want to say a quick thank you to another advisor and somebody who gave great counsel and leadership through this to me, and that was Ed Whitaker, a great Redย Raider, but Ed was a part of this process. Ed, I thank you for all that you continue to do for Texas Tech University and Texas Tech Athletics. Chancellor Mitchell wanted to be here today but had a conflict. Chancellor provided a constant steady leadership throughout this process and Chancellor Mitchell thank you for your continued leadership. Chairmen Lewis thank you. Thank you for your steady leadership and Vice Chairmen Griffin for the support that you have lent to this process.
ย
"As a committee, we conducted a very comprehensive search that sought to identify a head coach to do three things. One, not only passionately wanted to be at Texas Tech, somebody who passionately wanted to be here. He asked for the job. But, also shared our belief in this room, and as a Red Raider Nation, and as a search committee, us representing the Red Raider Nation, shared our belief that Texas Tech Football can be at the top of the Big 12 conference. We wanted someone here to lead us to the top of the Big 12 conference. Someone who believes with every fiber in their body that they could help us achieve that. We succeeded in that. Second, we wanted somebody that had the connections and the relationships to build with this locker room. To take these young men forward in their journey to accomplish [goal] number one, but also someone who can penetrate the state of Texas and find the best high school football talent in the state of Texas. No state in our country plays football the way Texas high school football does. And we wanted somebody that had the most connections and knew everybody in the state of Texas, Texas ties. We accomplished that. We had us a night last night, didn't we? We had us a night if you were following social media. There was a lot of chatter, a lot of great things coming Texas Tech footballโs way last night. And then third we wanted to unify the Red Raider nation. We wanted to bring this passionate Red Raider Nation fan base together. We have seen the energy, we've seen the enthusiasm that this community and the Red Raider Nation has for Texas Tech Football this season. It's time to take it a step further and turn up the volume and this Red Raider nation is ready to do that. And we're ready to launch forward and we've found the man, the head coach to lead us as we launch forward and I am excited about that. Debbie, Raegan, welcome back to the Red Raider Nation. It's glad to have you back. We had a chance to meet Debbie Sunday night and it's great to have her here and part of the family. With that and without further delay, please join me and I have a jersey to officially present to our new head football coach, after the bowl game this year, Coach Mcguire. Coach."
ย
Texas Tech Head Football Coach, Joey McGuire
โThis is incredible. My daughter wouldnโt let me forget this if I didnโt start it this way, but we are going to start this thing off rightโฆ RAIDER! (POWER!) RAIDER! (POWER!) โฆ ย Man, I have been waiting all my life to do that.
ย
โI told Cody, donโt think I am soft if I get a little teary-eyed because I am a very passionate person and the other person here that might also get teary-eyed would be my daughter and definitely my dadโฆ I get it from him. I am so excited to be here. This last week has been a blur, and it has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life. On behalf of my family, you are going to get to know all of them because we travel deep. They will be at all of the games, home and away. On behalf of my wife Debbie, my daughter Raegan, who is like we said a Red Raider. We are so honored to be a part of the Raider family. My son couldnโt be here today. He is getting ready to take on Kliff Kingsbury this weekend. The Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals are going to play so he couldnโt be here.
ย
โI will never forget when I moved my daughter in, and of course it was during two-a-days at the time. So we move her into the dorm and thatโs all I needed to do. Decorating is not my forte, so I gave that up to momma and let them decorate the dorm. Garret and I are here, and I said I guarantee they are practicing, letโs see if we can get in. We do, and we stay after and get to talk to some of the players. I got to talk to a dear friend Eric Morris that day. I went up to Kliff and I said my daughters here and I need you. I need you to have her back, thatโs my baby. He was awesome. He said here is my number and whatever you need and Eric did the same thing, but I will never when my son comes up and he about to be a freshman in high school, and said โHey Kliff my name is Garret McGuire and they call me the Kliff Kingsbury of my generation.โ Thatโs how it all started. I want to tell you this, Sonny would tell you, we will probably be working for him someday. I am a storyteller by nature and I am a Texan. Born and raised. I got my Texas socks on. And I think Texans are kind of storytellers by nature so I might tell a couple.
ย
โBefore I get started talking about Texas Tech. I have to talk about my family at Cedar Hill. Thatโs where I started. What a special place. I am a unicorn in coaching. I have now been four places. I was at Crowley [high school] for three years, Cedar Hill for 20, Baylor for five, and I will die here at Texas Tech. I really believe that if you get somewhere and you make it the best, and yโall have already done that. I am so happy to be a part of it.
ย
โI would like to thank Mack Rhoades, for his leadership at Baylor for bringing me in. Coach [Dave] Aranda, for keeping me. But most of all one of my dearest friends, Matt Rhule. He was a guy that convinced me to come to Baylor and man what a great five years. He is one of my best friends, I talk to him all the time. Talked to him before I got on the plane, talked to him before I went to bed last night. I love him to death. At the end of the day, the real people to thank are the players. You are not a very smart coach if you donโt know why you are here. And thatโs because of the players. And all of the guys who have played for me, I love them, and they know that. And you guys who are in this room are going to find that out real quick. Man, I love my guys and thatโs why I have been successful. Surrounded myself with great people and great players and love them and coaching them hard.ย
ย
โI want to thank the committee. Their leadership, you talk first class. President Schovanec, Regent Womble, Regent Campbell, Sammy Morris, Tony [Hernandez] who has been awesome, and our AD, Kirby Hocutt. These guys have a passion and a love for this school. Man, the moment I met them, I already wanted to be a Red Raider, but I have got to be a Red Raider. I have got to get to Lubbock as fast as possible. I thank yโall so much.
ย
โI want to thank the Red Raider Nation man! This is awesome! I have been amazed how you have made us feel at home from yesterday when it was announced. Thank all of yโall for being here today and I cannot wait to be a part of this community of Lubbock. Itโs such an incredible place. I am not going to lie to yโall, but I canโt wait to get to Spankyโs and get some fried cheese I had back in the 1990s.
ย
โI want to echo what Kirby said. If weโre really passionate Red Raider fans and we love this university, we got to show up for this team on Saturday! We got something to prove because this season is not over. I am going to be there in red and black, and I hope I get to see you all there on Saturday.
ย
โKirby said that he wanted to connect the high school coaches, and that is my DNA. I want to thank the THSCA and all the Texas high school coaches for all the support. And I am one of them and I am very proud of that. I am a high school coach that coachโs college football. Itโs not the other way around. Thatโs where my roots are, and I think you saw last night and hopefully in the next few days that is definitely going to pay off for this football team and this program. I canโt wait to get on the road to recruit for this great university.
ย
โOn my phones, I had 993 texts on one and about 575 on the other. And the majority of them I promise you were Texas high school football coaches. They are excited that one of their own is at Texas Tech University.
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โI want to start off and you all are going to find out real quick and some of you all know me, I talked to about 10 of you guys last night and got to recruit some of you. You are going to find out real quick that I am all about yโall. I am so grateful for this team, and I cannot wait to meet each and every one of you and build a genuine relationship, because thatโs what itโs going to be. I believe that is the foundation of every great football team. I know we have to have talent, and I know we do. But we are going to build a love for each other. If you can bring the talent, and a genuine relationship and a love for each other, special things can happen. Iโve been a part of them and I believe that. I promise you this guys, the moment my feet hit the ground every single morning, I will be fired up to see you. You will get the same guy. Iโm like the sun, constant. I am always like that!
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"I know that they want to win, and I know that you guys want to win. We are going to bring an exciting brand of football. Itโs going to be an explosive offense that Texas Tech is used to, and no doubt Sonny has been a part of it, heโs incredible and I donโt know if you young guys know Sonny and I have been friends for a long time and I love him to death. When I watched his press conference when all this happened, and I just loved his passion that he shows. In that press conference, you can see how much he loves Texas Tech and I really respect that. We are bringing a physical defense. And I want to say this real quickโฆ We are going to play defense in Lubbock!
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โYou are going to hear this out of my mouth every single day, and the guys will understand it, we are going to have a brand โ We are going to be the toughest, hardest working, most competitive team in the country. That is our brand. Tough teams are hard to beat.
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"I donโt know where we are right now, but I know where weโre going to be. We areย going to be toughest, hardest-working, most competitive team in the country. I believe that if you put a genuine relationship together, a love for each other, and that brand, something special will happen. I believe in West Texas tough, but I also believe that no matter where youโre at in Texas, if we create that brand, we will be a tough team to beat.
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"When you talk about being tough, hard-working and competitive โ it means you compete in everything you do. We will compete on and off the field.
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โWe are going to be great student-athletes, you are going to hear all the time โbe a pro, be a proโฆโ I want to recruit and develop individuals who can play in the NFL. The league minimum is $660K, thatโs a pretty good starting salary coming out of college. I did not have that. I want to recruit and develop those guys, I want to help develop you, but also if youโre not going to the NFL, I want you to be a pro as a husband, I want you to be a pro as a father, I want you to be a pro as a businessman.
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โWe are going to put a staff together that can develop. James Blanchard will be my player personnel, is an absolute rock star. We are putting this staff together that believes in building relationships, and they will not walk in the building if they cannot build a relationship. I donโt care if theyโre greatest Xโs and Oโs mind in the world, if they cannot build relationships, theyโre not walking in the building. Theyโre not going to coach at Texas Tech. Weโre going to build those relationships and develop the players.
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"We are going to get the West Texas players, I know that weโve got to recruit everybody, but guys we have to go get the guys who were raised wearing the red, black, and white to stay in the red, black and white. That is important to this staff. We got to keep them home. I canโt wait to get started.ย
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โIโm going to end it with this. The fact is, is I donโt want to get up and go to work every day, but I have to. I want to jump out of bed and get to the facilities every day because I get to. I donโt recruit as hard as I do because I have to, I recruit as hard as I do because I get to. I donโt build relationships with people because I have to, I build lifelong friendships because I get to. I donโt coach because I have to, I coach because I get to be a huge part of young menโs lives and help mold and grow them into men of character and value. I donโt take this head coaching job because I thought I had to, I took this coaching job at Texas Tech because I get to go to a place I have always wanted to go. I get to build a staff that I have always wanted to build. I get to be involved in a community that Iโve always loved. I get to be a part of building something special at Texas Tech University. Now it is time to get to workโฆโย
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