TRENDING: Texas Tech football offensive coordinator rankings for the previous 15 years

Perhaps no college football team in the country has been more closely linked to potent offenses than Texas Tech, owing in large part to the late Mike Leach. The crazy thing is that Red Raider football was all about running the ball and playing defense until he arrived in 2000.

In the 1980s and 90s, head coach Spike Dykes—a former defensive coordinator himself—solidified that identity. Byron Hanspard, Byron “Bam” Morris, and Ricky Williams were among the reliable running backs he relied on during his tenure.

But until Leach left after the 2009 season, everyone understood that Leach was running the entire offensive operation, thus nobody really cared who the offensive coordinator was. But after Leach was replaced by defense-first Tommy Tuberville, one of the worst head coaches in Texas Tech history, fans of the program became fixated on Raiderland’s offensive coordinator performance, hoping the team could maintain its newfound reputation as an offensive powerhouse.

So let’s take a moment to review the relative performances of the six offensive coordinators since the end of the Leach era. The Red Raider offensive coordinators for the previous 15 years are listed in this countdown.

6: Kevin Johns (2018)

Kevin Johns served as offensive coordinator for the Red Raiders during Kliff Kingsbury’s final season as head coach in 2018. His tenure in Lubbock was unremarkable, and his role was overshadowed by Kingsbury’s hands-on approach to directing the offense. Hired to enhance Texas Tech’s running game, Johns fell short of expectations, as the team struggled and ranked poorly in rushing offense nationally. Despite high hopes, Johns failed to significantly impact the Red Raiders’ ground game, leading to his reputation as one of the least effective offensive coordinators in the program’s recent history.

5: David Yost (2019-20)

The David Yost era of Texas Tech football, characterized by repetitive swing passes to wide receivers, is remembered with disappointment by many fans. While Yost’s offenses weren’t entirely ineffective, particularly in his first season in 2019 when the team boasted the nation’s 11th-ranked offense, subsequent performances failed to meet expectations. Despite his prior success as offensive coordinator at Utah State, where he benefited from having future NFL draft pick Jordan Love at quarterback, Yost struggled to replicate that achievement at Texas Tech.

Injuries to starting quarterback Alan Bowman in 2019 and an inability to optimize his performance in 2020 contributed to Yost’s challenges. Ultimately, his departure from the program after the 2020 season, likely influenced by head coach Matt Wells’ precarious position, underscored the disappointment surrounding his tenure in Lubbock. Yost’s reliance on repetitive and uninspired game plans, marked by frequent swing passes, left fans dissatisfied and longing for more imaginative strategies.

4: Eric Morris (2013-2017)

Eric Morris, former Texas Tech offensive coordinator, played a role in Patrick Mahomes II’s development during his time as a Red Raider, though he doesn’t receive as much recognition as head coach Kliff Kingsbury or current offensive coordinator Zach Kittley. While Morris wasn’t solely responsible for the offense, he coordinated some successful Red Raider offenses, notably in 2013 when he co-officiated with Sonny Cumbie.

Despite starting two true freshmen quarterbacks, Davis Webb and Baker Mayfield, Texas Tech managed an 8-5 record and averaged 35.8 points per game in 2013. The offense ranked among the top nationally, averaging 511 yards per game. Morris’s exact contribution to these achievements remains unclear, as does his influence on Mahomes’ success in subsequent years.

As the current head coach at North Texas and a former Texas Tech slot receiver, Morris’s offenses, particularly during Mahomes’ tenure, were among the Big 12’s best. However, much of this success is attributed to Kingsbury’s leadership rather than Morris’s individual impact.

3: Zach Kittley (2022-present)