Wells’ coaching carousel
It’s Matt Wells’ fourth season at the helm of Utah State University’s football program and, at 43, he’s still young.
Now three years, two bowl victories and over a dozen conference wins into his tenure with the Aggies, Wells still ranks 12th-youngest among FBS coaches. He is one of just 18 coaches calling the shots in his old stomping grounds, having played quarterback for the Aggies from 1994-96.
Wells’ situation is unique because he is head coach of the newest team in the Mountain West Conference where he has helped establish a successful football program in a traditionally basketball-focused university. Not to mention he gets to reap the benefits of Maverik stadiums’ recent upgrade. But what is the one thing that he deals with, more than any other head coach that he faces? Coaching staff turnover.
Referring to Utah State as a springboard program is appropriate. In the three years since Wells took over for Gary Anderson, Utah State has hired 14 brand new coaches (six this season alone) replacing its defensive coordinator three times and the offensive coordinator twice.
With the coaching carousel that seems to constantly be spinning in Logan, no one would blame Wells and his team for getting dizzy. But that hasn’t been the case. Utah State, under the direction of Wells, continues to find ways to win.
Wells’ steady nature has guided the Aggies to an 18-6 conference record over three seasons, despite yearly staff changes, including three straight bowl appearances.
When Wells was hired in 2012 he said, “I look forward to diving right in hiring a staff, recruiting, and setting our players into a routine when they get back in January. When I look for a staff, first of all they’re going to love the players … It’s not what’s best for the coaches, for support help or for the administration, it’s what’s best for those kids. At the end of the day, that’s what’s most important.”
The carousel ride may have changed faces around the program several times over, but Wells has proven loyal to this idea of making Utah State a place where coaches care about their athletes’ success first.
In 2012, Wells hired Todd Orlando as his defensive coordinator to replace Dave Aranda.
In his lone season under Andersen, Aranda helped coach the Aggies to a top 15 finish in the FBS in all four major defensive categories, including seventh in scoring defense with 15.4 points per game. When Aranda followed Anderson to a coaching job in Wisconsin, Orlando picked the Aggies up right where they left off.
In two years under Orlando, the Aggie defense continued to thrive ranking 12th nationally in scoring defense in 2014 with 19.7 points per game. Orlando then left for a coaching job at the University of Houston, leaving a now consistently dominant defense in the hands of Kevin Clune. Utah State finished the 2015 season ranked 17th nationally in total defense, before Clune left to coach under Andersen at Oregon State.
The injury bug forced Wells to start four different quarterbacks in the last two seasons. Two linebackers were recently drafted to the NFL and just three defensive starters will return this season. Despite these changes, Utah State was picked to finish third in the Mountain Division.
“You think about the mountain West, it’s a tough league,” Wells said. “It’s a really tough league. There’s a lot of parity, really good coaches and really good players. You look at last year, there were five teams in our division that went to bowls … You’ve got to be able to play week in and week out.”
In 2013, Wells had the most wins by a Utah State first-year head coach (nine), leading the Aggies to a first-place finish in the Mountain Division in their first year in the conference. Additionally, he earned Mountain West Coach of the Year honors. By the end of his second year he had upped his win total to 19 games. Now Wells is entering his fourth season boasting an overall record of 25-16.
In his time as head coach, Utah State has produced four NFL Draft picks, seen 15 NFL free agents sign contracts, boasted six All-Americans and three wins over AP Top-25 ranked teams. The fact that his coaches are constantly in high demand in programs all over the country should serve as a tip of the hat to the winning program he’s helped build in Logan.
With changes every year at key coordinator positions, players like starting quarterback Kent Myers are reassured by Wells’ constant presence.
“Coach Wells has been the head coach since I’ve been here and for the most part it’s still been his offense,” Myers said. “It should stay fairly the same with some new stuff and new ideas added.”
This carousel may keep spinning, and coaches will undoubtedly continue to come and go, but for now Utah State seems lucky to have Matt Wells as its head man — and he loves being here.
“I have fun,” Wells said during fall camp. “You know this is the best part of my day, the two hours on this grass.”