There has been a lot of talk about Memphis hiring a current head coach, but another option would be to hire a young coordinator. Texas Tech’s offensive coordinator would fit that mold and could be an intriguing candidate to take over at Memphis.
Memphis has found a lot of success hiring coordinators, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they made a similar move this cycle. Both Justin Fuente and Mike Norvell served as coordinators before taking the Memphis job, and the Tigers haven’t hired a sitting head coach since Tommy West in 2001.
Leftwich is in his first season as the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech, but he’s been tasked with running the offense for the last four seasons at different stops. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022 at Incarnate Word before making the move to Texas State in 2023.
In his first season as offensive coordinator, Leftwich’s offense averaged 581.2 yards per game and 51.5 points per game during a 12-2 season.
The 31-year-old had similar success in two seasons at Texas State, and the Bobcats led the Sun Belt in scoring offense and total offense both years. In 2023, Texas State averaged 458.5 yards per game and scored 36.7 points per game, and they averaged 476.9 yards in his second year running the offense.
After two seasons, the former UTEP quarterback went to Texas Tech for the same position, and he will likely be a part of a college football playoff staff in a week. The Red Raiders have one of the best offenses in the country, and they average 489.2 yards per game and 43.2 points per game.
Texas Tech made a lot of news during the offseason with the amount of money they were putting into the roster, and the hire of Leftwich might have flown under the radar. The offense has improved in every category, and the offensive coordinator has played a role in the improvement.
Leftwich has never served as a head coach, so it’s unclear if he would succeed as the head man. If Memphis went in a direction other than a current head coach, Leftwich would likely be one of the first calls Ed Scott would make.