By Cody Stark
Sam Houston State is getting closer to naming a new head football coach.
Bearkats athletic director Bobby Williams would not comment on the names of any candidates, but The Huntsville Item has learned that a total of 12 coaches are in the running to make the list of three to four finalists that will be brought in for an interview.
“Right now we are progressing through the process of hiring our next head football coach. We are making sure we follow the Texas State University System policies that are in place,” Williams said Tuesday.
“What I can say is I have narrowed the list to a group of 12 candidates we feel strongly about. I am conducting phone interviews right now with the hopes of narrowing the list to three or four who will be brought in for on-campus interviews. The release of those names will be given at that time.”
The candidates are Kansas wide receivers coach David Beaty, New Mexico offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey, Central Missouri head coach Willie Fritz, University of Alabama-Birmingham offensive coordinator Kim Helton, Duke defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre, Miami secondary coach Wesley McGriff, Texas A&M-Commerce; head coach Guy Morriss, University of Houston co-offensive coordinator Jason Phillips, Klein Oak High School head coach Dave Smith, former A&M; Consolidated and Killeen Harker Heights head coach Ross Rogers, Abilene Christian University head coach Chris Thomsen and Washington Redskins tight ends coach Scott Wachenheim.
Here is a closer look at the 12 candidates:
David Beaty
Beaty just finished his second season as the wide receivers coach at Kansas. In his first year at Kansas in 2008, he was responsible for one of the nation’s top receiving duos in Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier. Both players registered more than 90 receptions and 1,000 yards in a record-setting season by both.
This season under Beaty, Meier had 102 grabs for 985 yards and Briscoe finished with 84 catches for 1,337 yards. Before going to Kansas, Beaty held the same position at Rice for two seasons and coached All-American Jarett Dillard. Beaty went to high school at Garland and graduated from Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Mo.
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).
Mike MacIntyre
MacIntyre was recently named the National Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. He has been the defensive coordinator at Duke for the past two seasons.
He was an assistant coach at Mississippi from 1999-02, coaching receivers and defensive backs. MacIntyre was an assistant coach for the Dallas Cowboys under Bill Parcells (2003-06) and spent the 2007 season with the New York Jets. He has also coached at Georgia, Temple, Tennessee-Martin and Davidson.
Wesley McGriff
McGriff has been the secondary coach at the University of Miami for three years. The Hurricanes are ranked fifth in the Atlantic Coastal Conference in pass defense (202.9 yards) in 2009. Miami is 9-3 this season and will face Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 29.
Before heading to Miami, McGriff was a recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach at Baylor for four years. He has also coached at Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky and Kentucky State.
Guy Morriss
Guy Morriss has been the head coach at Texas A&M-Commerce; for two years, going 11-9. He was the head coach at Baylor from 2003-07 and at Kentucky from 2001-02.
Morriss played in the NFL for 15 years. He began his coaching career as the offensive line coach for the New England Patriots (1988-89). He was the offensive line coach at Valdosta State (1992-93) before joining the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. He also coached at Mississippi State in 1996, then was hired as an assistant head coach at Kentucky. Following his stint at Baylor, Morriss was the associate head coach for football development at Kentucky State.
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.
Chris Thomsen
Thomsen guided Abilene Christian University to the second round of the Division II playoffs in 2009, as the Wildcats went 9-4. In five seasons at ACU, Thomsen is 42-17 and has made four straight trips to the playoffs.
The Wildcats won the Lone Star Conference championship in 2008, the school’s first outright title since 1973. Thomsen was also the offensive coordinator at Wichita Falls High School (2001-02) and was the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Central Arkansas (2003-04).
Scott Wachenheim
Wachenheim was hired on Feb. 5 by the Washington Redskins to be the tight ends coach. Before that, he was a collegiate coach for 21 years, including serving as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Liberty University (2006-08).
In 2008, Liberty finished 10-2 on its way to a Big South Conference championship, while averaging 33.7 points and 446.7 yards per game. Wachenheim was also part of the Rice coaching staff (1994-2005), spending the final five seasons as the Owls’ offensive coordinator.
