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Matt Wells is leaving Utah State to take over as head coach at Texas Tech.

Wells, 45, spent the past six years at Utah State. He led the Aggies to a 10-2 record in 2018, tied for the second-most wins in a single season by the program.

In addition to Utah State's overall success under Wells, the football team won as many bowl games in his first two seasons under his guidance as it did from 1912-2012 (two). He also has a knack for building an excellent coaching staff.

Among the assistants who worked for Wells are current Central Florida head coach Josh Heupel, who served as Utah State's offensive coordinator in 2015, and current Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.



The 2018 Aggies were the most balanced squad Wells coached. They are ranked third in FBS with 47.2 points per game and 38th in scoring defense, allowing 23.0 points per contest.

There will be tremendous pressure on Wells to succeed at Texas Tech. He's taking over for Kliff Kingsbury, who had deep ties to the school after playing quarterback there from 1999-2002 and spent seven seasons on the coaching staff from 2012-18.

Despite Kingsbury's status as a Red Raiders icon, the program was unable to sustain any kind of success under his watch. They went 35-40 with three bowl appearances in six seasons with him as head coach.

Wells isn't a marquee name, but his track record of success makes him an ideal fit for a Texas Tech program in need of stability. His high-powered offensive style will also be a natural fit as the team competes against Oklahoma, West Virginia and Texas in the Big 12.