Coaching changes, especially those that occur midseason, often lead to resentment. Most times, it results in the fired coach bad mouthing his former team. However, former Texas Tech defensive coordinator Matt Wallerstedt is being accused of doing much worse.
According to the Red Raiders' interim defensive coordinator Mike Smith, Wallerstedt has been giving Texas Tech's opponents their defensive signals since his departure from the team on September 18.
"They have," Smith said to RedRaiders.com. "They have been passed around. ... I know other coaches have called and our signals have been passed around the whole time. All I know is karma's a bad deal.
"I don't want to get into what's going on with all that, but it's not right and, to me, it's not fair to the kids. So if that's how that person wants to handle business, they can handle business that way. I sure hope I don't run into him anytime soon."
Asked about it after the game, Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said the signals had been "passed around" and it stemmed from "the situation we had earlier in the year."
Texas Tech's defense has been downright awful this season, and I doubt too many teams needed the Red Raiders' signals to have success. That said, teams would certainly be at an increased advantage if they have the signals and could make adjustments to beat blitzes and coverages.
The bigger issue at hand is that Wallerstedt, should he be doing what he is accused of by Smith and Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury, is breaking the coaches' code. Coaches regularly change teams and being let go is part of the profession. When that happens, coaches don't just go around passing out the playbook to opposing teams.
