For now, forget the new K-State storyline with Matt Wells and Avery Johnson aiming for the Big 12. The true intrigue lies in a deeper, untold story—Wells’ personal connection forged in Norman while he was recalibrating his career and life. In 2023, the former Texas Tech head coach joined Brent Venables‘ staff at OU as a behind-the-scenes offensive analyst. It was a life reset. And it turned out to be exactly what he needed.
“I’m thankful the Lord led us to OU. Had some other opportunities,” Wells told Tim Fitzgerald on the Life of Fitz podcast. “But Coach Venables is a great friend of mine, still is. K-State alum. I’m going to tell you, the guy loves K-State. He does love Manhattan. But the opportunity to go there was perfect.” That trust, that mutual understanding between two veteran coaches, set the tone.
“Brent was really, really good to me, and he was good for me in so many ways as a coach,” Wells added. “And all I did was try to help him in his journey as a first-time head coach, but a veteran coach—has coached for a long time, 30 years.” In Norman, Matt Wells got to assist with the offense, collaborate with Jeff Lebby, and work closely with the quarterbacks—far away from the bright lights but not the grind.
But it was off the field where Venables’ support hit deepest. “For me as a dad and a husband, we made the decision to stay in Lubbock so our middle child, Ella, could graduate. And so Brent was phenomenal the way he laid it all out,” Wells said. “He allowed me to go back and forth between Lubbock and Norman, and we did that.” That kind of flexibility is unheard of in most major football operations. But Venables gave it without question.
Wells added, “Jen stayed with the kids in Lubbock. Just to go back and forth—being there most of the offseason, back in Norman during spring ball and during the summer, right now at this time of the year for some Ovs and camps, some game planning. And then in the season, I had an apartment there near campus.” It was a balancing act few could pull off, but Wells made it work.
And in that delicate balance came the moments that mattered. “I watched Wyatt play some eighth-grade and ninth-grade football games that I wouldn’t have seen had I been the head coach at Texas Tech,” Wells said. “He went to a brand-new school that played at 5:00 on Thursdays, and Brent Venables let me leave at noon on Thursday, and I went to watch Wyatt play on Thursday night somewhere in West Texas. Put a lot of miles on that truck and drove back to Norman. If I was the head coach at Texas Tech, I wouldn’t have seen them—or I’d have been late to.” That clarity in his voice wasn’t about bitterness. It was gratitude, born from the trenches of coaching chaos and family sacrifice.
Matt Wells has seen it all over 27 years in the game—from QBs to wide receivers to tight ends, from analyst to head coach. His resume includes 13 bowl appearances and two conference titles. A cum laude business marketing graduate from Utah State in 1996, Wells clearly knows how to both win and build. But in October 2021, that construction site came crashing down.
Texas Tech was 5-2 and up 24-10 at halftime against Kansas State in Lubbock. Then Felix Anudike-Uzomah’s safety flipped the game, and the Red Raiders unraveled. A day later, Wells was fired with his $18.8 million buyout. “That was tough. Didn’t see it coming. Happened mid-Monday morning after the K-State game,” he recalled. Since then, he’s chosen recalibration over revenge.
Wells added, “They can take your keys away, they can take your title and your job away, but what they can’t take away is your integrity, the way that you did things, the relationships that you built. You can’t go back at that time. You can’t go back and change anything. You can’t change conversations. You can’t change decisions you made. And so, you have to live with it.” When it was all over, he finally found some clarity.
Matt Wells laid open his 27-year coaching lessons
Matt Wells didn’t just show up at OU looking to pass time. He came to serve, to grow, and to soak up every lesson in the playbook—and beyond. “When I was at OU, I was all in. I wanted to help Jeff Lebby, and I wanted to help Brent Venables and Dillon Gabriel, and that was it. I just wanted to provide value,” Wells said. And boy, did he.
Long before he was drawing up plays with the Sooners, Wells got a wake-up call in the coaching world. He remembered a moment as a GA at the Naval Academy when a coach told him, “Don’t say you want to be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.” The message? Master the role you’re in. “You need to worry about being a great GA at the Naval Academy… maybe like in the summer… you prepare for maybe that first position job like a receivers coach.” And that’s exactly how Wells climbed—step by step.
That mindset followed him to Norman. There, Wells didn’t just help on the offensive side; he became a student again. “I learned more about an organization at OU… with all the different facets because of how big it was… from Joe Castiglione and Brent Venables.” He also soaked in Jeff Lebby’s offensive brilliance: “some intricacies in the passing game… what a resource for me.” For Wells, it was never about the title—it was about being where his feet were.
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