Frank Wilson named new head football coach at McNeese

Published 4:40 pm Thursday, January 16, 2020

LAKE CHARLES — Moving quickly to fill the unexpected hole in the football program, McNeese State announced Thursday that Frank Wilson will be the 17th head coach in the school’s history.

Historically, he becomes the first African-American to hold the position at the school as well.

“We are elated to have somebody with Frank Wilson’s reputation to even consider McNeese,” said university president Dr. Daryl Burckel. “That was a great surprise.”

While the contract is still being finalized, it is believed Wilson will get a 3-year deal worth around $200,000 a season. 

McNeese made the announcement on social media a day after Wilson was seen at the men’s basketball game Wednesday night with university officials. The school will hold a press conference Friday at noon to introduce Wilson to the community.

It was just 13 months earlier that McNeese did the same thing for Sterlin Gilbert, who promised to change the direction of the program, preaching accountability and responsibility as his cornerstones. 

Gilbert left to become offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Power 5 conference Syracuse after just one 7-5 season last Saturday, leaving without telling his staff or players, many of whom learned of the news by social media. 

Gilbert, who had two years remaining on his contract, owes McNeese $100,000 for leaving early. 

The hiring of Wilson ends a search that lasted roughly just 72 hours.

“We didn’t want to let this linger,” said Burckel. “Our student athletes need closer and need a path forward. But it wasn’t just about timing, we believe we got the right guy.”

They also got somebody Burckel believes is a long-term solution.

“We told people don’t even talk to us if you are not going to be here three years,” Burckel said. “We believe he (Wilson) is deeply committed.”

Just four years ago Wilson was one of the hottest young coaching names in the business, landing at the University of Texas-San Antonio. However, he was fired by UTSA at the end of last year after posting just a 19-29 record, including losing his only bowl game.  

His team was just 7-17 the last two years after a 12-12 start. 

Before that the 46-year old Wilson spent five seasons (2010-2016) as the recruiting coordinator and associate head coach at LSU under Les Miles. He will need to lean on that recruiting experience to sell a McNeese program that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2002 and has missed the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in each of the last four seasons. 

That means Wilson will be trying to sell the once nationally elite program to kids who were not born the last time McNeese won a postseason game. 

Wilson, a graduate of Nicholls State where he played two years, has also worked as an assistant coach at Ole Miss, Southern Mississippi and Tennessee. He also has experience coaching high school in his hometown of New Orleans, which could open up a new recruiting area for McNeese.

Wilson inherits a program that for the first time is on academic suspension from the playoffs. Poor grades during Lance Guidry’s tenure as head coach finally caught up with McNeese, which received word of its postseason ban in December. Guidry was fired at the end of the 2018 season.

In December, university officials were hoping the ban would last just one year, claiming tremendous progress has already begun in the classroom. 

“It is disappointing that this has happened to our football program,” Burckel said at the time of the announcement. “We have to face it head on.

“This is an aberration. We will never let it happen again.”

Gilbert sounded equally defiant.

“It’s disappointing for those kids, especially our seniors, but I’m here and I have started to fix it,” Gilbert said.

Instead, it will up to Wilson to clean up the mess.