Top candidates to replace Matt Wells at Texas Tech

Texas Tech fired Matt Wells on Monday afternoon after the Red Raiders surrendered a 14-point lead against Kansas State on Saturday. The Wildcats entered the game on eight game losing streak in Big 12 games.

Now the Red Raiders are faced with finding their next head coach. Wells went 13-17 in three seasons. The former Utah State head coach had the Red Raiders at 5-3 this season, but they were routed by Texas and TCU and barely survived against FCS Stephen F. Austin.

Texas Tech athletic director is now tasked in finding the school’s fifth football coach since 2010. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal was the first to break the news and gave an early list of candidates to watch.

Texas Tech head coach candidates

Sonny Dykes, SMU

A former Texas Tech assistant, Dykes has SMU sitting at 7-0 and ranked No. 19 in the latest AP poll. In five seasons, he has resurrected the Broncos and made them relevant again in Dallas. Before landing at SMU, Dykes was the head coach at Cal for four seasons, going 19-30 and 10-26 in Pac-12 play.

Jeff Traylor, UTSA

Traylor spent the early part of his career entrenched in Texas high school football. With many in-state connections he has the Roadrunners at 8-0 and ranked No. 23 in the nation in only his second season on the job. He has prior assistant coaching jobs at Arkansas, SMU and Texas.

Art Briles, former Baylor head coach

The head coach that brought Baylor to two consecutive New Year’s Six bowls, Briles’ time in Waco ended in scandal. Briles was fired after the 2015 season. Despite all the baggage he would bring to Lubbock, reports point that his name is a contender for the job. Briles played two seasons at Texas Tech and was later the running backs coach at the school.

Kendal Briles, Arkansas offensive coordinator

The son of Art Briles, Kendal is the current offensive coordinator for an Arkansas team that knocked off Texas A&M and Texas in the opening weeks of the season. He spent time at Baylor before taking the offensive coordinator job at FAU and Florida State. Hiring Kendal would also allow Art Briles to join the staff or help his son in an advisory role.