Matt Wells

Matthew Scribner Wells (born August 10, 1973) is an American football coach and former quarterback who currently serves as Associate Head Coach, Co-Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach at Kansas State.

After dropping an overtime decision to Arkansas State, the Aggies came back to resoundingly defeat #18 BYU in Provo for the first time since 1978, by a score of 35–20.

After opening conference play with a win against Air Force, Garretson was lost to a broken wrist in a loss to Colorado State, and replaced by third-string quarterback Craig Harrison, who was injured in the next game.

Under the leadership of former scout team quarterback Kent Myers, the team went on to win the next four games, before losing to Boise State to claim a tie for second place in the Mountain Division.

Utah State went on to play in the New Mexico Bowl, defeating UTEP 21–6.

Wells was a redshirt freshman during Utah State's 1993 Las Vegas Bowl season.

He played quarterback in 16 games during the 1994 and 1995 seasons at USU, passing for 2,013 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Wells was a three-year letterman from 1994 to 1996.

He was on the 1996 Big West Conference co-championship team, but did not play in a game.

Wells spent five years at the U.S. Naval Academy (1997–2001) as its quarterbacks coach, fullbacks coach, and wide receivers coach.

He also served as the junior varsity head coach and offensive coordinator for three years.

From 2002 to 2006 he was tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Tulsa.

Wells had two coaching stints at New Mexico, serving as the Lobos' wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator from 2007 to 2008 and wide receivers and kickoff return unit coach in 2010.

In 2009, Wells served as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at Louisville.

Wells has had at least one coach on his staff who later became head coach of another school.

Josh Heupel became the head coach at the University of Central Florida after the departure of Scott Frost for the University of Nebraska, and is currently the head coach at the University of Tennessee.

Wells returned to his alma mater Utah State as the quarterbacks coach in December 2010.

Following the 2011 season, USU offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin left the program to take a similar position at Colorado State.

The Aggies finished the season with a record of 11–2, a 41–15 victory over Toledo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and ranked 16th in the AP Poll.

Head coach Gary Andersen resigned shortly after the bowl win to become the head coach at the University of Wisconsin.

Wells was tapped as his replacement and helped to guide the team to the Western Athletic Conference championship in 2012.

On December 20, 2012, Wells was named the 27th head coach in the history of the Utah State football program.

The Aggies again finished the season with impressive defensive statistics, ranked 12th in scoring defense and 30th in total defense, as well as achieving the second-best record in school history at 10–4.

Wells previously served as the offensive coordinator and then head coach at Utah State University, where he was named Mountain West conference coach of the year in 2013 and again in 2018.

Wells' 2013 season began with a loss to Utah, followed by consecutive victories.

After a close loss to USC, USU posted a 2–2 record on the season.

The Aggies won the next game, but dropped the next two to bring the team to a 3–4 record on the season.

Their preseason Heisman hopeful quarterback, Chuckie Keeton, was injured in game six against BYU, and was lost for the season.

After a loss to Boise State, the squad rebounded and won the final five regular season games.

These victories gave them the Mountain West Mountain Division Title, and a berth in the inaugural Mountain West Football Title Game.

Due to the team's performance, Wells earned the 2013 MW Coach of the Year.

After losing a close contest at Fresno State, USU earned an invitation to the Poinsettia Bowl against #23 Northern Illinois.

They defeated the Huskies for the school's 3rd bowl win on December 26, 2013, with an impressive defensive performance that held Heisman Trophy finalist Jordan Lynch and the Huskies to 315 total yards and 14 points.

USU finished the season ranked #12 in total defense and #7 in scoring defense.

The season again began with a 38–7 loss against the Tennessee Volunteers, but the Aggies rebounded with home wins against Idaho State and Wake Forest.

Quarterback Chuckie Keeton was lost during the Wake Forest game after reinjuring his knee, but was replaced by second-string QB Darell Garretson, who had been the replacement starter the previous season.

Heupel previously served under Wells in 2015 as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

In 2015, Wells led Utah State to six wins and its fifth-straight bowl game as the Aggies had 12 players earn various all-Mountain West honors, which were the third-most in the conference.

He was named head coach of Texas Tech on November 29, 2018, and led the team until his firing midway through the 2021 season.

He also served as an offensive analyst for Oklahoma under Head Coach Brent Venables during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.