Despite his youth, NU receivers coach Garret McGuire is wise beyond his years
When Matt Rhule formally announced the hiring of Garret McGuire as Nebraska’s new wide receivers coach, many Husker fans didn’t know what to think about a 23-year-old full-time position coach.
But while McGuire, who turns 24 this month, is one of the youngest assistants in NU football history, his knowledge of the game spans well beyond his years.
The son of Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, Garret has spent his entire life around football. He used to sleep in his dad’s office during seasons as a young kid. By the second grade, he already knew he was destined to be a coach.
After spending the past two seasons as an assistant under Rhule with the Carolina Panthers, McGuire admitted he was “drinking out of a firehose a little bit” as he transitioned to his first full-time college coaching job.
But the former Baylor quarterback and two-time Academic All-Big 12 selection quickly settled in during his first month in Lincoln.
“I’m probably a little bit ahead of the curve ball being younger, but we’re just going at it,” McGuire said.
“What’s awesome is that a lot of what we’re going to do on offense, there’s carryover with everywhere I’ve been,” he added. “Right now, we’re speaking in tongues, kind of, to the other people in the room. But to us, it all makes sense.
“We’re pulling from all these offenses, and it just hits our brain. That’s really been helpful.”
McGuire has a long list of coaching influences
Being a coach’s son has played a critical role in McGuire’s football career. He said he talks with his dad “every night” to pick his brain about football, coaching, and connecting with players.
“I’m just always trying to get his evaluation of me,” McGuire said. “Am I doing enough? Am I doing the right things? That’s what’s so cool about me, is that I’m the son of a coach, so I spent 18 years with the best coach I know. We were under the same roof.”
McGuire’s football education goes well beyond emulating his father.
Rhule and Joey McGuire developed a close friendship that has lasted for decades. Garret said that after his dad, Rhule was the next most significant influence on his career.
McGuire’s football teachers don’t end there, either. He credits guys like former Panthers’ assistants Joe Brady, Ben McAdoo, James Campen, Matt Lombardi, and Mike Siravo as other valuable coaching mentors.
That’s in addition to the numerous Texas high school coaches he played for and worked with over the years.
Using youth to his advantage
Ten minutes before McGuire took the press conference podium, he was in his office with six Husker receivers.
It wasn’t a formal meeting or anything. McGuire just invited his guys to come to hang out, watch film, and load up on snacks.
“I was like, ‘Hey guys, I’ve got Honey Buns, I’ve got Pop-Tarts,” McGuire said. “‘Come down and get one and sit there and hang out with me as I’m watching tape and doing all that.'”
That is an example of the advantages McGuire has with being such a young coach. He’s only slightly older than most of his players. In some cases – like Baylor transfer Josh Fleeks – he’s almost the same age.
McGuire and Fleeks were teammates at both Dallas (Texas) Cedar Hill High School and Baylor. McGuire’s first high school touchdown pass was to Fleeks, who he called “not only an old teammate; he’s a good friend.”
There’s a balance McGuire must maintain between being relatable as a peer and being respected as a coach. But he’s confident that connecting with his players as people will solve any issues with his unique dynamic.
“I’m attacking it every way that I can,” McGuire said. “It’s about relationships. I want to know what they’re like, I want to know what their parents are like, I want to know their classes…
“That old Nick Saban quote: ‘They don’t care about what you know until they know how much you care.'”
