Texas Tech Football assistant coach Josh Cochran gets promoted

This offseason, there was yet another change to the Texas Tech football coaching staff. This time, the elevation was to assistant coach currently holding the position. Josh Cochran, the tight ends coach, will now also serve as the run game coordinator, according to a program announcement on Monday.

Cochran will begin his third season as an assistant coach at Tech next year, having been a member of the coaching staff since Joey McGuire took over. In fact, Cochran has prior experience as a run game coordinator. In 2016, he accepted a position as offensive line coach and run game coordinator at East Texas Baptist, his first college coaching position. He made trips at Austin Peay, Baylor, and North Carolina after making his collegiate debut that year. In 2022, McGuire lured him to Tech.
During his first two seasons at Tech, Cochran taught tight ends, perhaps the most talented bunch the program has had at the position in a long time. For the previous two years, Henry Teeter, Mason Tharp, and Baylor Cupp have been essential members of the offense. The manner Tahj Brooks was able to carry for over 1,500 yards last season was also made possible by their run blocking.

With Cochran taking the helm also as run game coordinator the move makes sense. For a program that has been widely regarded as a pass-happy school, last season proved the Red Raiders can rely heavily on the running game to win. With Brooks returning for one more season, this seems like a great move to help build on the success of the running game in 2023.

In light of Cupp and Teeter’s departure, Cochran will turn to Jalin Conyers, Johncarlos Miller II, and Tharp to carry on the tight end success in both the passing and rushing games. Cochran will have a bigger role in assisting McGuire and offensive coordinator Zach Kittley in creating additional blocking schemes for Brooks now that he has a new title next to his name.

Cochran’s ascension suggests that Texas Tech’s coaching staff for 2024 is set in stone. Following Stephen Hamby’s departure, the program last week announced the appointment of Clay McGuire as the team’s new offensive line coach. Since the offensive line plays a major role in the effectiveness of the rushing game, Clay is another coach that Cochran will need to collaborate closely with.