Fellowship of Christian Athletes is honored to
announce Texas Tech University’s head football coach, Joey McGuire, as the
recipient of the Grant Teaff Coach of the Year Award.
Named after
Grant Teaff, former Baylor University coach, a FCA executive
director and Trustee Emeritus of the FCA Board of Trustees, the
Coach of the Year Award presented by FCA recognizes a football
coach who exemplifies Christian principles and who is involved in FCA.
The award is also based on the success and performance of the coach’s team that
season.
“Fellowship
of Christian Athletes is honored to recognize Coach McGuire, who has used his
coaching career to build a football program that puts the Lord first and opens
doors for his players and staff to grow in their faith,” said FCA President and
CEO Shane Williamson. “It is clear that Coach McGuire lives out the qualities
and characteristics highlighted by this award, as his Christ-like
servant-leadership is evident to all who know him.”
Now in his fourth year at
Texas Tech, Coach McGuire led his team to a 12-1 record in 2025, ranking
No. 4 in both the College Football Rankings
and AP Top 25 poll. He is in the Texas
High School Football Hall of Fame for his successful tenure as a Head Coach in
the Dallas-Fort Worth area at Cedar Hill High School, where he won two State
Championships. He has won many Coach of the Year awards and helped rebuild programs
into title contenders at Cedar Hill High School, as an Assistant at Baylor
University and as the head coach at Texas Tech University.
“I’m honored to receive the FCA Grant Teaff Coach of the Year Award.
To be recognized with an award named after a legend such as Coach Teaff is an
honor I don’t take lightly. I can’t thank FCA enough for this tremendous
honor,” said McGuire. “In everything we do as a program, we always put our
players first. For some, that is a deep involvement with FCA, an
organization I have partnered with dating back to my time at Cedar Hill High
School. We end every practice here at Texas Tech with a prayer, and it’s
important to me that our players see my faith on a daily basis and know that
there are resources available for them with a great partner like FCA.”
Haydon Wiginton, Texas Tech
Football wide receiver, shared, “Not only is Coach McGuire a Godly man, but he
also pushes his players to be so. He doesn’t let a practice or game go by
without having the team be prayed over, as well as making sure there is a
Sunday morning chapel for players and staff weekly. God says love is the
biggest tell in a follower of Christ, and Coach makes sure his team and staff
know every day that they are loved every single day by serving them and telling
them directly how much they mean to him. When talking about servant leaders, he
is the first person that comes to mind. He is the perfect embodiment of
‘washing his brothers’ feet’ in the way that he deliberately seeks ways to
promote his players and friends in every aspect of life, not just football.”
Josh Cochran, tight ends
coach and run-game coordinator at Texas Tech University, remarked, “Coach
McGuire has proven to be a man of discipline, character and integrity. The way
he integrates his faith into his daily duties as Head Football Coach, and the
way he lives out scripture on a daily basis, proves that there is no one more
deserving of the award.”
As for his involvement in FCA,
Coach McGuire is a donor and supporter of the FCA area ministry
in multiple ways. He gives personally to FCA staff both locally
in Lubbock and back in Dallas, where he was connected to FCA
staff as a long-time high school head football coach, before becoming a college
coach. Coach McGuire is also personally part of a weekly Coaches Bible Study,
where over a dozen coaches and staff members in his program join weekly to
study Scripture. The Texas Tech Football Team also has a weekly player-led
Bible study Huddle by one of the football players on FCA’s
Student-Athlete Leadership Team. Coach McGuire allows Texas Tech FCA to use the football facility for the weekly multi-sport Huddle.
Coach McGuire has also
allowed FCA West Texas Multi-Area Director Corbin Young to serve
as Team Chaplain and travel with the team, where he leads pregame chapels and
prays with the team in the locker room both before and after every game. Coach
also provides an optional chapel at the football facility for all of his
players every Sunday that is typically led by different Christian coaches on
his staff. He has been a keynote speaker at FCA’s large annual
statewide Coaches Breakfast at the Texas High School Coaches Association
Convention. He wears an FCA bracelet with “The Four” on one side
and “Jesus Won” on the sidelines of every game and in every media interview and
often gives his bracelet away to fans each week.
“The values that Coach
McGuire consistently reinforces through their program's culture that they call
‘The Brand,’ ‘The Player-Coaches Oath’ and ‘The Plan To Win’ are all built on
biblical principles that prepare his players and staff to be successful in
football and every area of life,” said FCA West Texas Multi-Area
Director Corbin Young. “Coach McGuire is one of the most transformational
coaches I have ever met. The standard for integrity and excellence he sets for
his players and staff is high, but he models it and motivates everyone in the
building to live up to those standards by how he leads with love and humility.”
-FCA-
Photos courtesy of Texas Tech Athletics