Texas Tech parted ways with Matt Wells before the conclusion of his third season as head coach of the Red Raiders. That leaves a coaching vacancy at one of the handful of Power 5 openings in the recruiting-fertile state of Texas, where the program is onto its fourth head coach since Mike Leach left in 2009.

Take a look at five coaching candidates that could be in line for the head coaching job in Lubbock, including two frontrunners, a notable name on staff and a few native Texans that could spark recruiting.

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Traylor, 53, brings a jolt of energy to the Texas Tech program that it lacked under some of the previous regimes. Traylor has been an instant success at UTSA, where he's piled up a wildly impressive 15-5 mark in two seasons at the helm, and that includes an 8-0 record as we dip into November.

Traylor has developed a reputation as a diligent recruiter and is well-received throughout the state due to his vast success as Gilmer (Texas) High's head coach. More importantly, he's assembled a staff known for developing talent, which has translated to on-field success in a short period of time.

Like Traylor, Dykes is deep-rooted in the Lone Star State, and in particular was around the Red Raiders during their heights under Mike Leach, which is still the height that Texas Tech brass is aspiring to reach with its next head coach. Dykes, 51, quickly found a rhythm turning around a 5-7 SMU program in 2018 that ripped off a remarkable 24-6 record over the past two seasons, including a 7-0 start this year.

Dykes has connections to Lubbock and has completely overhauled SMU recruiting with fantastic young coaching and coordinator hires. The Mustangs have not only found success recruiting the very fertile Metroplex, but have dipped elsewhere in-state for Power-5 talent. Should Texas Tech arm him with more resources, he could recapture the Red Raiders' identity.

One would be inclined to think that Cumbie's return to Lubbock after sustaining a long period of success at TCU could be tied to the big picture of Texas Tech long-term. Cumbie has been tagged as the interim coach, and for the first time since his four-year stint as Leach's gunslinger under center, will have a chance to put his spin on the team.

Cumbie, 40, was a GA under Leach in 2009 and a holdover on Tommy Tuberville's staff before moving over to TCU in 2014. During his six-year stint in Fort Worth, Cumbie oversaw multiple record-setting offenses that ranked among the tops in the FBS, including the development of Trevone Boykin, Kenny Hill and then Max Duggan. Cumbie directed the offense and personally recruited the quarterbacks, which also included former Rivals100 quarterback Justin Rogers, now at UNLV, who was injured as a senior.

If it's a splash the Red Raiders are looking to make, then perhaps Briles will be a name visited in this coaching search. The son of the former Baylor coach, Briles, 38, has quickly turned the Arkansas offense around. The Razorbacks rank fourth in the SEC in total yardage (465 YPG) with a conference-best rushing attack (1,992 yards).

Three different Razorbacks have 400-plus yards rushing, including quarterback KJ Jefferson and impact freshman Raheim Sanders, who Briles helped bring to Fayetteville. He also played a role recruiting Texas quarterbacks Malik Hornsby and Lucas Coley and closing with Rivals250 receiver Ketron Jackson over Texas. He's a candidate with a familiar name, ties to different parts of the state and a strong offensive resume in the making.

Perhaps the biggest long-shot of this group for the job, Lebby has a resume certainly worthy of consideration and would inadvertently draw the attention of some of the top offensive recruits in the region. Lebby, 37, comes from the aforementioned Brile offensive tree and has architected offenses under now-Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and Lane Kiffin. He hails from Central Texas and the success of Matt Corral will certainly intrigue the populous of Texas-based signal-callers that pop up year in and year out around the state.

Since 2017, Lebby's offenses have ranked in the top-15 consistently in scoring and top-five in total offense. In 2017, his UCF offense was the highest-scoring unit in the country at 48.2 points per game and remained inside the top-six until his departure. They also ranked inside the top-five of total offense with the second-best clip in 2019 behind only Joe Burrow's record-setting LSU offense.

At Ole Miss, Lebby's offense finished third in total offense and remains in that spot as Halloween approaches, averaging 555 yards per game and nearly 42 points per game, good for seventh in the country.