Sam Houston State Fires Football Head Coach Todd Whitten

After a stint of mediocrity for the latter half of this decade, Sam Houston State has decided that it has had enough. According to an official release from the SHSU Athletic Department, Todd Whitten will no longer be head coach of the Bearkat football team. This marks the second coaching change in the Southland after Jay Thomas was fired from Nicholls University this past Thursday.

Coach Whitten coached for five seasons at Sam Houston and amassed an overall record of 25-28. The once-proud Bearkats have not been to the playoffs once under Whitten's tenure, and Texas State amassed a 4-1 record against their rivals during that period of time. SHSU's best season under Whitten came in 2007, when the Bearkats finished 7-5, 5-2 SLC and beat the Bobcats in San Marcos. However, the 'Kats still missed out on the playoffs that year.

There may be additional fallout from this coaching change that may affect other Southland schools as well. According to an article from neworleans.com, former Northwestern State coach and current SHSU defensive coordinator Scott Stoker may be among a list of candidates for the Nicholls head coaching job.

A list of preliminary candidates for the position is unknown as of this point, but SHSU Athletic Director Bobby Williams was quoted as saying that "it is imperative that the search for the individual to move our football program toward that new outlook begin immediately." KTSW will have more news on the coaching searches of Nicholls and Sam Houston State whenever we get any information concerning them.

Sam Houston State finished 5-6 overall and 3-4 in the Southland Conference this year, and Texas State defeated them in their season finale in San Marcos by a score of 28-20.

-Will Butler, KTSW Sports Director/Blog Editor