Texas Tech's coach reveals his passion for the state, his family, and the winning culture he's built, eyeing college football's elite.
ARLINGTON, Texas - In many ways, Joey McGuire still thinks of himself as a Texas high school coach and a Texas guy - and a damn good one.
"I was born in Texas,'' he told me on Friday as his Texas Tech Red Raiders arrived here in Arlington for the Big 12 title game. "And raised in Texas. I’ve never been anywhere else but Texas.
"And I’ll die in Texas.''
McGuire is a native of Crowley, located about 30 miles from AT&T Stadium, where on Saturday here in Arlington his 11-1 Texas Tech team will play for the Big 12 title against BYU. He went to college here at the University of Texas at Arlington, and just before he was thinking of transferring to Lubbock, he met his wife of now 31 years, Debbie.
At age 31, he eventually became the head coach at Cedar Hill High School, a traditional loser.
During his incredible 14-year run at Cedar Hill, he won three state titles and became a member of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.
Four years ago, he landed in Lubbock. Now he’s staying with a new contract, and he's winning under new rules, with the Red Raiders ranked as the No. 4 team in the country and likely College Football Playoff-bound.
In our exclusive visit on the eve of the title game, McGuire - who calls himself a “weirdo’‘ when it comes to being competitive - explains why he's sticking with the Red Raiders, how he's turned this program around so quickly and why Tech - which is 11-1 and plays BYU at AT&T Stadium on Saturday - deserves to be in the CFP.
ON LUBBOCK AND TECH "Staying at Texas Tech such an easy choice for me and my family and there are so many reasons. No. 1, I love this place. I love this community. I love this university. The passion that they have for their teams they support we get financially the facilities that I get to walk into every single day are the best in the country. It’s just easy. It’s a great fit.
"I was born in Texas. And raised in Texas. I’ve never been anywhere else but Texas. And I’ll die in Texas.''
ON THE TURNAROUND "I think one of the biggest things is when you have such a great administration that has your back. It makes such a big importance to get a program going in the right direction have a great president. I have the best A.D. in the country (Kirby Hocutt) and then the board of Regents is so aligned when it comes to success and so they made it easy.''
ON TTU'S CFP QUALIFICATIONS "When we’ve had our starting quarterback on the field? We’ve won every game by three touchdowns or more. "We have a elite defense and we have a team that truly cares and loves each other and plays for each other. And you could see that when you turn the film on.''And at the heart of all that love? Just an ol' ball coach who lives and dies for Texas ... and for the Red Raiders.