Why Joey McGuire is going to Detroit to see Lions coach Dan Campbell
On the way to making the NFC championship game last season, the Detroit Lions went 6-3 on the road during the regular season.
Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire yearns for such a record outside Jones AT&T Stadium. That's why he scheduled a trip to Detroit this coming week to see Lions coach Dan Campbell.
McGuire and four other Tech staffers are planning to be there Tuesday and Wednesday as the Lions gear up for their second session of off-season organized team activities in Allen Park, Michigan.
"I want to go personally," McGuire said, "because I want to sit down with Dan Campbell and say, 'Here's my issue: I've played like hell on the road, and it's killing me. Give me some things that you think would be good.' "
The Lions went into the other team's stadium and won last season against the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers, New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings. The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. The Packers and Bucs made the playoffs, the Saints finished 9-8 and the Chargers and the Vikings were playoff teams the year before.
Rehab timelines for 13 Red Raiders: Joey McGuire expects September return for Texas Tech football deep snapper Jackson Knotts
Star receiver makes a promise: How Micah Hudson made Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire break his policy
McGuire's 15-11 with two bowl victories in his first two seasons as Texas Tech coach. In regular-season road games, though, the Red Raiders were 1-4 two years ago and 2-4 last year.
McGuire figures 2024 sets up for the Red Raiders to do well. They're 11-3 at home the past two years and have five of their first seven games in Lubbock. Texas and Oklahoma are off the Big 12 schedule as the Longhorns and Sooners depart to the Southeastern Conference. Tech is 6-2 in November under McGuire.
So the Red Raiders can make noise, provided they fix recurring problems.
"If we're going to have a shot at this ... We've got five of our first seven games at home," McGuire said, "so we get to correct an issue we've had. We've been 3-and-3 through the first six games the last two years. We've played well at home, and we've got five of them at home (early). The month of November, we've played well.
"We haven't played well on the road. Well, we've got to go to Iowa State, to TCU and to Oklahoma State, and so we've got to find a way to win those games.
"So Dan Campbell's been, I think, just a genius of creating culture at Detroit, so I want to go to talk to him about stuff like that, talk to him about some of the stuff they do."
New projection, band location revealed: Jones AT&T Stadium capacity comes into focus. Will it stay at 60,000?
Schedule discussions: Texas Tech football's Joey McGuire weighs in on 2027 UNT game, this year's Oregon-WSU swap
The 48-year-old Campbell's a Texan who went to high school in Glen Rose and played tight end at Texas A&M.
Asked if he'd met Campbell, McGuire said, "It's been a long time. He was young, young, young whenever I did."
Also part of the Tech contingent going to Detroit are special teams coordinator and running backs coach Kenny Perry, special teams analyst Tyler Schovanec, offensive line coach Clay McGuire and senior offensive analyst Kirk Bryant.
Most members of the Texas Tech staff are making visits to NFL teams this month. Defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter and defensive staffers Zarnell Fitch, C.J. Ah You, Marcel Yates and Ryan Conry were in Las Vegas this past week during the Raiders' OTA.
Perry made a recent trip to Cincinnati, where former Tech punter Austin McNamara is a rookie free agent with the Bengals, and inside linebackers coach Josh Bookbinder is going to see the Baltimore Ravens.
"We're hitting those OTAs," McGuire said.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Why Joey McGuire is going to Detroit to see Lions coach Dan Campbell
