Former Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells joining Brent Venables Oklahoma staff: Source
Oklahoma football, led by Brent Venables, is hiring former Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells to its support staff, a source told The Athletic.
Wells, who spent the previous three years in the Big 12 leading the Red Raiders, is expected to work mostly in an off-the-field role in the Sooners’ recruiting department.
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The 48-year-old Wells, a former quarterback at Utah State, was the head coach at his alma mater from 2013-18, posting a 44-38 record before being hired by Texas Tech. Wells went 13-17 across the bulk of three seasons in Lubbock before he was dismissed after a 5-3 start to the 2021 season.
(Photo: John E. Moore III / Getty Images)
What does Wells bring to Oklahoma?
Fortuna: Wells is the latest big name to join Venables’ staff. He also has lured in a Broyles Award semifinalist in offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby from Ole Miss and has brought along multiple key coaching and recruiting cogs from Clemson in defensive coordinator Ted Roof, associate head coach Todd Bates and executive director of football administration Thad Turnipseed.
Venables, of course, spent the past 10 seasons running the defense at Clemson, helping elevate the Tigers to a national recruiting and football powerhouse during that span. During that time, head coach Dabo Swinney regularly added seemingly overqualified names to his stable of analysts, such as Roof (a former head coach), Terry Bowden (a former head coach) and J.P. Losman (a former NFL quarterback). It is no surprise to see Venables take a similar approach early on in his Oklahoma tenure. Venables was deliberate when feeling out potential head-coaching opportunities through the years, zeroing in on spots where he believed he could win a national championship. Oklahoma is undoubtedly one of those jobs, and the Clemson blueprint has been wildly successful.
In Wells, a former Big 12 head coach and a two-time Mountain West Coach of the Year, Oklahoma has found a coach who knows the lay of the land and will help the Sooners as they build their recruiting infrastructure, which is perhaps the most important step amid the program’s transition to the SEC.
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