Texas Tech University Athletics
Football
Joey McGuire
- Title:
- Head Coach
Joey McGuire enters his fifth season as Texas Tech’s head football coach where he has quickly built the Red Raiders into a Big 12 champion and a national contender.
The 17th head coach in program history, McGuire was named to the position on Nov. 8, 2021, by Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt. Since then, McGuire has pushed Texas Tech to its first outright conference championship since 1955, all while recording the most Big 12 wins by any conference school since his hiring. Texas Tech capped its historic 2025 season with not only the Big 12 title but its first College Football Playoff appearance in school history, marking the fourth-consecutive bowl appearance for the Red Raiders under McGuire.
Texas Tech is a combined 35-18 during McGuire’s tenure as head coach, which has included at least five Big 12 victories in each of his four seasons. The Red Raiders, who wrapped the 2025 season with a school record 12 wins and an 8-1 record in Big 12 play, are joined by Kansas State as the only active Big 12 programs to record five or more league wins in each of the past four years, regardless of conference affiliation. Texas Tech previously finished 6-3 against conference opponents in 2024, marking their most league wins since 2009 at the time.
The Red Raiders’ success under McGuire doesn’t stop there. In four short seasons, Texas Tech has accomplished the following:
- Texas Tech built one of the most-dominant teams in recent history during the 2025 season as all 12 wins were by at least 20 points, which included a 34-7 victory over BYU in the Edward Jones Big 12 Championship. The Red Raiders were only the fifth team in the Associated Press era (since 1936) to record 12 or more wins by 20-plus points in a season, joining the likes of Nebraska (1971), Florida State (2013), Alabama (2018) and Clemson (2018). Of that group, only the Red Raiders and Alabama recorded their 12th win by at least 20 points prior to the bowl game.
- Texas Tech’s eight Big 12 wins by at least 20 points during the 2025 season were the most in league history. The Red Raiders were only the sixth team in college football history to win eight or more conference games by that margin, joining Florida State (1993), BYU (1996), Boise State (2002), Alabama (2018) and Ohio State (2019).
- McGuire is only the second head coach in program history to push the Red Raiders to a bowl appearance in each of his first four seasons, joining the late Mike Leach who did so in each of his 10 years in Lubbock. He is already only the fourth head coach in program history to lead the Red Raiders to four or more bowl appearances overall, joining not only Leach (9) but Spike Dykes (7) and Jim Carlen (4).
- Texas Tech has combined for 35 wins in McGuire’s first four seasons, the most for a Red Raider head coach during that span in school history. He joins E.Y. Freeland (1925-28) and Leach (2000-09) as the only head coaches in program history to record a winning record in each of his first four seasons.
- The Red Raiders are a combined 22-5 at home over McGuire’s four seasons, turning Jones AT&T Stadium into a consistent home field advantage. That record includes a 14-4 mark during Big 12 play for the Red Raiders, who have won eight-consecutive games in front of their home crowd entering the 2026 season.
- McGuire is now the only head coach in program history to lead the Red Raiders to an above .500 conference record in each of his first four seasons. Prior to his debut 2022 season, Texas Tech had not recorded a winning conference record since 2009 as the Red Raiders were a combined 36-71 (.336) in the 12 years before McGuire’s arrival, with no seasons of at least a .500 record. Texas Tech’s current streak is only the third time in program history the Red Raiders have recorded a winning conference record over four-consecutive seasons and the first time since the 1991-97 campaigns.
- Dating back to Texas Tech’s acceptance into the Southwest Conference in 1960, McGuire has the highest conference winning percentage for a head coach in his first four seasons. McGuire, who is 25-12 against Big 12 foes when the Big 12 Championship win over BYU is included, leads the likes of Steve Sloan, who was 15-8 in his three seasons in the Southwest Conference from 1975-77, as well as Jim Carlen, who was 17-11 in his first four seasons of his 1970-74 tenure.
- McGuire became the first head coach in program history to lead the Red Raiders to a bowl victory in each of his first two seasons as Texas Tech downed Ole Miss in the 2022 TaxAct Texas Bowl and then Cal in the 2023 Radiant Technologies Independence Bowl.
- McGuire’s eight-win debut in 2022 finished one victory shy for the most ever by a first-year head coach in program history as Dell Morgan previously led the Red Raiders to a 9-2 record in 1941. Texas Tech closed the 2022 season with a 42-25 victory over Ole Miss in the TaxAct Texas Bowl, marking its fourth-consecutive victory to close the season. The Red Raiders had not previously ended a season with four-straight wins since 1995.
- McGuire is the only head coach in program history to defeat Texas and Oklahoma in the same season after the Red Raiders defeated both in overtime during his debut season in 2022.
- Red Raider fans have come to expect strong finishes under McGuire as Texas Tech is a combined 13-3 in the month of November in his four seasons despite having to start three different quarterbacks each of his first two years. Texas Tech’s 13 wins in November are the most for any Big 12 program during that span.
THE PATH TO THE NFL
Texas Tech has become a mainstay for the NFL under McGuire’s watch, not only for his open-door policy to scouts and front office personnel but for the upgrade in talent heading to the next level. The Red Raiders have had 14 players hear their name called during the NFL Draft throughout McGuire’s tenure, including a school record nine during the 2026 draft alone.
That list includes a pair of top-10 picks in rush ends Tyree Wilson in 2023 and then David Bailey this past spring. For Wilson, he was picked seventh overall by the Las Vegas Raiders, becoming the highest-drafted Texas Tech defensive player in program history at the time. Wilson earned first team All-America honors by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) following his 2022 senior season and was a first team All-Big 12 honoree after totaling 14.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks over 10 games. He matched Ring of Honor member Donny Anderson as being the second-highest drafted Red Raider in program history at the time (all positions) and the highest in the modern era.
Bailey, meanwhile, surpassed Wilson’s status as the second-highest draft pick in program history and the highest defensive player ever selected during the 2026 festivities as the New York Jets used the No. 2 overall pick on the fellow edge rusher. Bailey flourished in his lone season as a Red Raider, earning unanimous All-America honors as well as Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year accolades after sharing the FBS lead with 14.5 sacks. Bailey became the third edge rusher drafted already in McGuire’s tenure, joining not only Wilson but Myles Cole, a seventh-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024.
Bailey kicked off a rush of Red Raiders heading to the next level during the 2026 draft as Texas Tech’s nine selections more than doubled any other Big 12 school and ranked tied for fourth overall nationally. Bailey was followed by two other top-50 selections in linebacker Jacob Rodriguez with the Miami Dolphins and defensive tackle Lee Hunter to the Carolina Panthers in the second round. Fellow edge rusher Romello Height and wide receiver Caleb Douglas were both picked on night two as well, going to the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins, respectively, in the third round.
Texas Tech had six total selections from the defensive side of the ball during the 2026 draft alone as defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard was called in the sixth round by the Detroit Lions with safety Cole Wisniewski going a round later to the Philadelphia Eagles. Texas Tech’s two other day three selections were wide receiver Reggie Virgil, a fifth-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals, and quarterback Behren Morton, who was a seventh-round selection by the New England Patriots.
The 2026 draft marked the third-consecutive years under McGuire where multiple Red Raiders heard their name called. Caleb Rogers, a stalwart on the offensive line with 55 career starts as a Red Raider, was picked in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, while running back Tahj Brooks was selected in the sixth round by the Cincinnati Bengals. Prior to that, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson was chosen by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2024 draft followed by Cole in the seventh round.
Brooks ended his Red Raider career as Texas Tech’s all-time leading rusher after breaking Byron Hanspard’s longtime school record during the 2024 season. Brooks rushed for at least 1,500 yards in each of his final two seasons, becoming the first Red Raider and only the third player in Big 12 player to do so twice in a career. Brooks, who forego the NFL Draft following his stellar 2023 season to return for his senior campaign, was the first Red Raider running back to be selected in the NFL Draft since fellow 1,000-yard rusher DeAndre Washington was picked by the then Oakland Raiders in 2016.
Texas Tech also added three others to the NFL via free agency for the 2024 season as tight end Baylor Cupp was on the Kansas City Chiefs’ roster through their run to the Super Bowl, while offensive lineman Cole Spencer was a member of the Tennessee Titans. Tyler Owens, meanwhile, was a key contributor on special teams for the Washington Commanders, appearing in 12 regular-season games for the NFC Championship Game participant.
The Red Raiders have had more than 15 players earn NFL opportunities as an undrafted free agent or training camp invite in McGuire’s short tenure. That list includes punter Austin McNamara, who was among the NFL’s top punters as a rookie in 2025 with the New York Jets. McNamara departed Texas Tech as the school’s all-time punting average leader and the only three-time All-Big 12 first team selection in school history.
McGuire previously developed four NFL Draft selections during his tenure at Baylor. That list included outside linebackers Terrel Bernard in 2022 and William Bradley-King, a seventh-round selection by the Washington Football Team in 2021, as well as defensive linemen James Lynch and Bravvion Roy in 2020. Lynch went in the fourth round of the 2020 draft to the Minnesota Vikings, while Roy was taken two rounds later by the Carolina Panthers. Bernard, meanwhile, was a third-round selection by the Buffalo Bills during the 2022 NFL Draft.
A NATIONAL AWARD WINNER
There might not have been a more-compelling story during the 2025 season than Texas Tech’s own Jacob Rodriguez. A former scholarship quarterback turned walk-on linebacker under McGuire, Rodriguez’s story captivated the national spotlight, all while the Red Raiders turned in one of the top defensive seasons in modern history.
Rodriguez anchored a defense that posted one of the largest single-season improvements in FBS history, lowering scoring by 23.0 points per game and total defense by 203.2 yards per game. He was especially impactful in creating turnovers, totaling seven forced fumbles, four interceptions and two fumble recoveries his senior year alone. Rodriguez became the first FBS player since 2005 to record at least five forced fumbles, four interceptions and two fumble recoveries in a single season en route to finishing fifth overall in the Heisman Trophy voting. He finished his career with 19 takeaways, including nine as a senior, helping Texas Tech lead the FBS with 32 takeaways on its way to a Big 12 title and the College Football Playoff.
One of the most decorated players in college football in 2025, Rodriguez nearly swept the nation's top defensive honors, winning the Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award and Lombardi Trophy. He became the first Red Raider to win any of those awards and just the third player in history to claim the Butkus, Nagurski and Bednarik awards in the same season, joining Dan Morgan (2000) and Manti Te'o (2012).
Rodriguez joined with David Bailey to become sixth and seventh individuals in program history honored as unanimous All-Americans and the third set of teammates to collect first team All-America accolades. Rodriguez became Texas Tech’s first linebacker to receive first team All-America honors since Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Zach Thomas. The comparison to Thomas only added more fuel during the 2026 NFL Draft when the Miami Dolphins utilized the No. 43 overall pick in the second round to select Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was also named the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year, recognizing the FBS player who best exemplifies leadership, integrity and sportsmanship. A two-time All-Big 12 first team selection, Rodriguez was the program's first Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 and was a two-time team captain.
AN NFL FRONT OFFICE
Under McGuire, Texas Tech’s personnel department resembles an NFL front office, a first-in-its-kind approach in the world of college football. Texas Tech’s personnel department is overseen by general manager James Blanchard, who was McGuire’s first hire after accepting the Texas Tech position. Blanchard has the ability to offer any potential recruit he and his staff feel will fit at Texas Tech, allowing McGuire’s coaching staff to prioritize player development.
The setup has helped Texas Tech land several of the nation’s top high school recruits, especially in the lucrative footprint of the state of Texas. The Red Raiders have signed three top-30 classes already under McGuire, whose staff has inked a several five-star prospects in wide receiver Micah Hudson, offensive lineman Felix Ojo and edge rusher LaDamion Guyton with more likely on the way.
Texas Tech’s most-recent 2026 class ranked as high as No. 13 nationally by ESPN and No. 15 by 247Sports, which led the Big 12 for the second time already in McGuire’s tenure. The team of McGuire and Blanchard began their tenure with a 2023 class that was ranked as high as No. 28 by Rivals, marking Texas Tech’s highest recruiting ranking in more than a decade. Texas Tech followed with another banner 2024 class that was considered in the top-25 nationally by both Rivals and 247Sports.
The Red Raiders have consistently prioritized recruiting the top high school talent in Texas, leaning into his staff’s ties to the high school coaches throughout the state. Texas Tech has complemented that approach with several additions via the transfer portal where McGuire and his staff have delivered successful results with the likes of All-Big 12 selections such as linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, wide receivers Josh Kelly and Caleb Douglas, tight end Jalin Conyers and defensive back C.J. Baskerville, bringing all back to the Lone Star State for their best collegiate seasons.
Texas Tech landed On3’s top transfer portal class following the 2024 season as McGuire and his staff signed 20 newcomers to add to an already-talented list of returners that eventually led the Red Raiders to the College Football Playoff for the first time. The class, which also ranked in the top five nationally by both ESPN and 247Sports, delivered nine players who were ranked among the top-100 portal entrees by ESPN, including outside linebackers David Bailey (No. 9 overall) and Romello Height (No. 32 overall), offensive lineman Howard Sampson (No. 18 overall) and defensive lineman Lee Hunter (No. 19 overall), among others. Texas Tech reloaded again this past offseason, signing a transfer class that ranks as high as No. 2 nationally by On3.
THE TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMER
Texas Tech’s early success should come at little surprise as McGuire previously helped build a winning program at Baylor following a stellar 14-year run at Cedar Hill High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. McGuire, a 2020 inductee into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor and a 2022 member of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame, created one of the most-memorable turnaround stories in Texas high school football history during his 14 seasons leading Cedar Hill.
The Longhorns not only won at a high level under McGuire, but they transformed into one of the state’s most dominant programs with its first state title in 2006 and then back-to-back state crowns in 2013 and 2014. Cedar Hill was an impressive 141-42 during McGuire’s tenure, going from an unknown to a state champion in only his fourth season as head coach. The Longhorns’ dynasty featured 12-consecutive playoff appearances, nine bi-district titles and seven district crowns under McGuire, including another appearance in the state title game in 2012 where Cedar Hill fell to Katy.
McGuire’s turnaround of Cedar Hill quickly placed him among the state’s most revered high school coaches as he was named the Texas Coach of the Year by MaxPreps, the Dallas Morning News and Chevy Silverado in 2013. He also earned Coach of the Year honors for Class 5A that season by the Texas Sports Writers Association (TSWA), Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the Dallas chapter of the National Football Foundation and the Padilla Poll. He garnered the honor again from the Padilla Poll in 2014. The Dallas Cowboys also honored him as the organization’s high school Coach of the Year following Cedar Hill’s first state title in 2006.
McGuire, at only the age of 31, was promoted to the head coach at Cedar Hill prior to the 2003 season following six seasons as an assistant coach. Cedar Hill had not recorded a winning season in the eight years prior to his promotion, a streak he quickly ended with a 6-4 campaign in his debut. McGuire was previously an assistant coach at his alma mater, Crowley High School, during the 1995 and 1996 prior to his move to Cedar Hill.
A two-time District Coach of the Year (2005-06), McGuire coached in all but two Under Armour All-America games during his tenure and was the head coach of the 2013 Semper Fidelis All-America Bowl, two events that feature the nation’s top collegiate prospects. He was also the head coach for the north team in the 2014 Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) All-Star Game.
THE PATH TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The back-to-back state titles provided McGuire with several opportunities to depart for the collegiate level, a move he wouldn’t make until after the 2016 season when Matt Rhule contacted him shortly after his hire as the new head coach at Baylor. Needing someone with extensive ties throughout the state of Texas, Rhule hired McGuire initially as his tight ends coach. The move was perfect timing for McGuire, who had remained at Cedar Hill to coach his son, Garret, for his final two seasons.
Baylor quickly turned into a Big 12 title contender within three years of McGuire’s hire as the Bears finished 7-6 in only his second season on staff in 2018 after defeating Vanderbilt in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl. The Bears followed with one of their best seasons in school history in 2019, opening the season with nine-straight wins en route to an appearance in the Big 12 Championship game. Oklahoma edged the Bears in overtime, sending Baylor to an appearance in the Allstate Sugar Bowl and a top-15 final ranking to close the season.
Baylor reached bowl eligibility three times with McGuire on staff and was in the midst of an eventual run to the Big 12 title and a second appearance in the Allstate Sugar Bowl when McGuire was tabbed as Texas Tech’s new head coach late in the 2021 season. McGuire served as Baylor’s associate head coach during each of his final three seasons as he oversaw three different position groups during his tenure: tight ends (2017-18), defensive ends (2019) and outside linebackers (2020-21).
Baylor built a strong reputation as one of the top defensive programs in the country during McGuire’s tenure, namely in 2019 when the Bears’ defense featured both Lynch and Roy up front. The defensive line was possibly Baylor’s most-prolific position group that season as the Bears set a program record with 46 sacks, including 13.5 from Lynch alone. Lynch departed Baylor as the Bears’ single-season and career (22) sacks record holder as he was tabbed the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American.
PERSONAL
Following his success helping rebuild the Baylor program, Texas Tech was an ideal fit for McGuire, whose daughter, Raegan, was a recent graduate of the university. McGuire had visited Lubbock numerous times previously either to see his daughter or earlier in life when several life-long friends attended the university.
McGuire likes to say he would have attended Texas Tech, himself, had he not met his wife, Debbie. He eventually earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1995. The couple has been highly-involved in the Lubbock community since their arrival, volunteering for numerous charitable organizations, including Covenant Children’s Hospital and then Voice for Hope through their annual Women Behind the Brand clinic each summer.
The couple’s two children are also highly successful in their own fields as Garret is in his second season as Texas Tech’s running backs coach. The younger McGuire previously began his coaching career under Rhule as an offensive assistant with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers during the 2021-22 seasons. He followed Rhule to Nebraska in 2023, serving two seasons as the Huskers’ wide receivers coach, making him easily one of the youngest assistant coaches in the country. Prior to beginning his coaching career, Garret McGuire was a quarterback and special teams player at Baylor, playing in six games from 2017-20 where he was a two-time Academic All-Big 12 first team honoree.
Raegan, meanwhile, is the owner and founder of Sireneny, a leading fashion design company in New York City. Her designs have been worn by several high-profile figures, including Natalie Biden, the granddaughter to President Joe Biden, as well as Taylor Swift on her spring 2023 Eras Tour. Raegan and her husband, Joe Tocco, were married in May 2023.
JOEY MCGUIRE CAREER HISTORY
2022-present – Texas Tech Head Coach
2020-21 – Baylor Associate Head Coach (Outside Linebackers)
2019 – Baylor Associate Head Coach (Defensive Ends)
2017-18 – Baylor Assistant Coach (Tight Ends)
2003-16 – Cedar Hill High School Head Coach
1997-02 – Cedar Hill High School Assistant Coach
1995-96 – Crowley High School Assistant Coach
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