View from the corner office
12/8/2009 6:00:00 PM | Athletics
I just wanted to give an update on where we are in the process of hiring our next head football coach. I have narrowed the list to about 12 names of candidates and I am conducting phone interviews this week with those potential candidates. What I am hoping to get out of those interviews are three to five really strong coaches who I will bring in for on-campus interviews later this week and early next week.
I have remained very open about this process to everyone who is involved, including the players and the coaching staff. I have met with the team on two occasions as well as the coaching staff twice. I have also met individually with our coaches to keep them up-to-date on their status.
While there is not a formal committee for this hiring, I have talked to several strong football-minded people who will keep the best interests of Sam Houston State in mind. Our main focus is finding the right person, but also keeping the recruiting process in mind.
I know the recruiting situation is a major concern during this process, which is one of the reasons why we are moving very quickly on this hire. However, the last thing I want to do is miss what could be a very quality coach who could be overlooked in a hasty hiring process. I will be taking every step I feel is necessary to get the right person for Sam Houston State.
We have a wide range of interest in this position, ranging from NFL experience, FBS head coaching experience, FBS assistant and coordinators, FCS experience, Division II head coaching experience as well as Texas high school football coaches. This has been a very extensive search across the college football landscape. I have also reached out to former Bearkats who played here or graduated from here. I am very optimistic with the broad-base of candidates.
With us expanding our Bearkat Champions philosophy beyond Huntsville, in to Houston and around the state, it is important now more than ever to have a consistent winning football program. With that philosophy, the emphasis is on football, basketball and baseball and we feel like two of those sports have the leadership to continue to head in the right direction. The goal is to build a championship caliber football team here at Sam Houston State, and to do that, the new leader of this program must put a product out on the field we can all be proud of.
