Texas Tech Football: Top 5 candidates to replace Matt Wells as head coach

1. Sonny Dykes — Head coach SMU

No candidate could possibly make more sense for Texas Tech football than Sonny Dykes, the son of former Texas Tech head coach and Red Raider legend Spike Dykes.

Spike Dykes was a three-time Southwestern Conference Coach of the Year and also won the Award in the Big 12 after leading the Red Raiders to a nine-win season. He also guided the team to a Cotton Bowl appearance.

Sonny also has experience coaching for Texas Tech and spent a few seasons coaching under Mike Leach including two as co-offensive coordinator before going to Arizona. He was eventually the head coach at Louisiana Tech where he went 22-15 before taking the head job at Cal.

He struggled with the Bears and was let go after a 19-30 record but resurfaced at SMU, just down the road from Texas Tech and this season is 7-0 with the Mustangs, who are 29-13 overall in his time as the head coach.

This would be my first call and it just makes too much sense, especially since SMU was left out of Big 12 expansion.

If the Mustangs were headed to the Big 12, that might change things, but it could be an opportunity that’s hard to pass up for Dykes, although a more attractive offer from another school might be enough to keep him away.