Texas State parted ways with head football coach Jake Spavital following a blowout loss to Louisiana in the final game of the regular season. The Bobcats moved to the FBS level in 2012 and haven’t yet reached a bowl game in 11 seasons. They were 6-6 in 2013 and 7-5 in 2014 under the direction of Dennis Franchione. The 2014 season is the only year that Texas State finished the year with a winning record in Sun Belt play during the 10 years in the conference.  

Spavital leaves San Marcos with a 13-35 record in charge. He was 9-23 in Sun Belt competition. The Bobcats went 3-9 in his first year at the helm back in 2019. The number dipped to two wins in 2020. Texas State won four games in 2021 for the first time since 2014, but a second straight 4-8 campaign sealed his fate. Texas State moved to the FBS ranks in 2012. The Bobcats have only finished above .500 once – that was in 2014 with Dennis Franchione as the head coach. The only other record at .500 or better was a 6-6 finish in 2013. Everett Withers was 7-29 in his three years in charge from 2016 to 2018. Franchione was 20-28. 

BIG SWING 

Tom Herman 

The former head man at Texas and Houston would be a home run hire for Texas State. Finding the money might be an issue – and maybe the offensive coordinator job at a place like Texas A&M is a better option – but it wouldn’t hurt the Bobcats to kick the tires. Herman was the offensive coordinator at Texas State in 2005 and 2006. He was 22-4 at Houston and 32-18 at Texas. 

REALISTIC 

Eric Morris 

Texas State fans were given an up close and personal look at what a Morris-coached squad can do when his Incarnate Word team went into San Marcos and beat the Bobcats early in the 2021 season. The 37-year-old is in his first year as offensive coordinator at Washington State following four seasons as head coach at nearby UIW. He was 24-18 overall with the Cardinals, including a 10-win season in 2021 – his last year in charge. Morris is a young, exciting offensive-minded coach who, on paper, offers many of the upsides that Spavital did when he took over the Bobcats. 

GJ Kinne 

The first-year head coach at UIW will have options at the FBS level following a successful season with the Cardinals. He replaced Morris and arguably made the team even more explosive. UIW is the seven-seed in the FCS playoffs and received a bye to the second round. Kinne has Texas roots, an offensive philosophy, and a year of experience leading a college program. He’s the son of a long-time Texas high school football coach and those ties would help him get Texas State back into recruiting at the high school level. 

DCTF PICK 

KC Keeler 

Few coaches are proven to do with more with less than Keeler – a career sub-FBS coach who wins at every level he’s coached in so far. Sam Houston is moving up to the FBS ranks, so maybe Keeler would be open to a Texas State program that is 10 years ahead of the Bearkats. He won FCS championships at Delaware and Sam Houston. He’s a great recruiter and a proven culture builder. 

WILDCARD 

Emmett Jones 

Former high school coaches turned prominent college assistants are in en vogue right now across the Lone Star State. Jeff Traylor is 24-4 in his last two seasons as the head coach at UTSA. Joey McGuire went 7-5 in his first year at Texas Tech and has the Red Raiders energized on the recruiting trail and in the donor base. Jones, who was the head coach at South Oak Cliff, is currently the wide receivers coach at Texas Tech. He was the interim head coach at Kansas before Lance Leipold took over. Jones is loved by his players and respected throughout the state. He’d instantly improve the talent level in San Marcos and put together a strong staff.  

Kenny Perry 

Another name to watch if Texas State looks for a former high school coach is Perry, currently the associate head coach at Texas Tech with Joey McGuire. Perry, who spent 14 years as a high school head coach in the DFW area, also made stops at TCU, Kansas, and SMU. He’s a high-energy guy with an infectious personality. He’s one of the most liked coaches in the state and would have no problem putting together a staff that can attract players to San Marcos. 

Mike Jinks 

Jinks is in the same mold as Jones. He is currently the running back coach at Houston, but he was a successful head coach at nearby Cibolo Steele High School before moving to the college ranks. Jinks was 77-17 at Steele, including a 43-4 record in his final three seasons. He started his college career as the running back coach at Texas Tech in 2013 beofre taking over as head coach at Bowling Green in 2016. He was 7-24 in three seasons, but that was in Ohio. At Texas State, he’d eat into UTSA’s recruiting area and use his THSCA connections to improve the talent base on the team. 

Brennan Marion 

If Texas State wants to inject some young energy into the program, look no further than Austin and Texas’ wide receiver coach. Marrion, who was one of the most prolific receivers in college while at Tulsa, is quickly rising the ranks. He’ll eventually be a head coach, so the Bobcats could beat the rest of the nation to his services. He was a head coach back in 2013 at the prep level in California. That’s where he developed the GoGo offense, which incorporates old-school triple option principles with modern spread concepts. He’s had success as a play caller and is regarded as one of the better recruiters in college football. 

UPDATE 

Here a few more names after speaking to people in and around Texas State about possible names. The Parker Executive Search Firm is in charge of the process for the Bobcats. The news that Tulsa opening hurts the chances of landing Kinne, who was a quarterback at Tulsa, and AAC money is bigger than the Sun Belt. 

Drew Svoboda 

He is currently the special assistant to the head coach, as well as coaching tight ends and special teams, at Alabama under Nick Saban, but Svoboda has Texas ties. A former high school coach in the Houston (Klein Collins) area, Svoboda is in his fourth year at the college ranks. He spent three seasons at Rice as a running backs coach and special teams coordinator. 

Jason Washington 

If Texas State wants a native son, Washington is the man to call. He’s currently in his third year working with the secondary at Mississippi State. He was a four-year letterman for the Bobcats in football and baseball early in the century. He’s been an assistant coach at Texas State, Rice, and Texas. 

UPDATE NOV. 29 

Joe Gillespie 

Another name to watch in the Texas State head coaching search is the TCU defensive coordinator. I'm told he's received some interest from San Marcos. Gillespie is a Stephenville native who went to Angelo State. He spent multiple decades coaching high school football in the state of Texas. He was 72-23 as the head coach of Stephenville High School in seven years, winning the 2012 state championship along the way. Gillespie was at Tulsa before arriving in Fort Worth in 2022 as part of Sonny Dykes' staff.