Six finalists announced for head football coaching job
12/14/2009 12:00:00 PM | Football
Sam Houston State director of athletics Bobby Williams has announced the names of the six men he will interview this week for the university's job as head football coach.
The candidates are New Mexico offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey, Central Missouri head coach Willie Fritz, University of Alabama-Birmingham offensive coordinator Kim Helton, University of Houston co-offensive coordinator Jason Phillips, Klein Oak High School head coach Dave Smith and former A&M Consolidated and Killeen Harker Heights head coach Ross Rogers.
"After a series of telephone interviews and consultations, these are the six candidates we have invited on campus for personal interviews," Williams said. "The interviews will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. At that point, I will consult with university president Dr. James Gaertner and we will work together to reach a decision as soon as possible."
A closer look at each of the candidates:
Darrell Dickey
Dickey has been the offensive coordinator at New Mexico for one season. He held the same spot at Utah State the previous two years. Dickey was the head coach at North Texas from 1998-2006. During that stretch, the Mean Green won four straight Sun Belt Conference championships (2001-04), going 25-1 in league play.
Dickey guided North Texas to its first bowl win in 57 years, a 24-19 victory over Cincinnati in the 2002 New Orleans Bowl. The offensive-minded coach has also served as the offensive coordinator at Memphis (1986-89), UTEP (1994-96) and SMU (1997).
Willie Fritz
Fritz just completed his 12th season at Central Missouri and is 90-43 during that span. The Mules went 8-3 this season and just missed making the NCAA Division II playoffs.
He won back-to-back NJCAA national titles at Blinn College before heading to Central Missouri and was the special teams coordinator at Sam Houston during the 1991-92 seasons under Ron Randleman. He was also a defensive coordinator at Coffeyville Community College.
Kim Helton
Helton was the head coach at the University of Houston from 1993-99. He is currently the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. The Blazers averaged 229.9 yards rushing a game this season, the highest total in 11 years.
Helton was the offensive coordinator at the University of Miami from 1979-82 and has coached in the NFL for the Washington Redskins (2002-03), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1983-86), the Houston Oilers (1987-89), the Los Angeles Raiders (1990-92) and the Miami Dolphins (1993).
Jason Phillips
Phillips has been on the staff at the University of Houston for seven years. In 2009, he was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator to go along with his role as the wide receivers coach. The Cougars are 10-3 this season and will play in the Armed Forces Bowl against Air Force on Dec. 31. Houston leads the nation in total offense (581.23 yards a game) and is second in scoring (43.92 points).
Phillips, who was an honorable mention All-American wide receiver while playing for the Cougars, played in the NFL for six seasons. He served as an offensive intern for the Minnesota Vikings (2001) and Atlanta Falcons (2002). He has also coached at Baylor (2007) and Texas State (2002).
Dave Smith
Smith has been the head coach at Klein Oak High School since 1995. He played college football at Sam Houston from 1974-77.
Smith coached four years at Northern Illinois University for Charlie Sadler. He also coached three years at the University of Oklahoma for Barry Switzer and Gary Gibbs, and nine years in Baytown at Baytown Lee High School.
Ross Rogers
Rogers is a former longtime Texas high school football coach. He also played at Sam Houston from 1972-73. During his time at A&M Consolidated, the Tigers made it to three state finals and won the Class 4A championship in 1991.
Rogers was the first head coach at Killeen Harker Heights when the school opened in 2000. The Knights went to the playoffs in six of Rogers' seven seasons and he became the first Texas high school coach to win a district title in a program's first season. He was also the first Texas high school coach to win 14 or more games in four consecutive seasons and retired in 2007 with a career record of 211-87-8.
