UIW's Morris, former Steele coach Mike Jinks possible Texas State coaching candidates

Texas State fires Everett Withers after team fell to 3-8 this season

(Eric Morris image via UIW; Mike Jinks image by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State fired coach Everett Withers on Sunday and there's already speculation about coaching candidates to take over the Bobcats program.

The popular name that has surfaced is UIW head coach Eric Morris, who led the Cardinals to an improbable share of the Southland Conference championship and an FCS playoff berth this season.

Recommended Videos



Morris is in his first season at UIW after being an assistant coach for five seasons at Texas Tech under head coach Kliff Kingsbury. 

The other name to emerge as a possible candidate is former Bowling Green head coach Mike Jinks. 

Bowling Green dismissed Jinks after two and a half seasons as head coach. Jinks also coached under Kingsbury at Texas Tech and has a strong recruiting background in Texas.

Jinks also coached at Steele High School and turned the program into a Texas high school power. He is well-known in the San Antonio-Austin area, which is a fertile recruiting ground.

Other names that have been mentioned are West Virginia offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, Texas assistant coaches Jason Washington and Craig Naivar, and Houston offensive coordinator Kendall Briles.

Withers was dismissed by Texas State after the Bobcats fell to 3-8 on Saturday with a 12-7 loss to Troy.

The team was 2-10 in each of Withers' first two seasons at the Sun Belt Conference school, which has been playing at the FBS level since 2012.

Athletic Director Larry Teis said in a statement Sunday that defensive coordinator Chris Woods will coach the Bobcats in their final game against Arkansas State on Saturday.

Withers was a longtime college and NFL assistant before becoming interim head coach at North Carolina in 2011 following the firing of Butch Davis for NCAA violations.

Texas State hired him from FCS James Madison, where in two seasons as coach he was 18-7.


About the Authors:

RJ Marquez is co-host of KSAT News Now and reports for Good Morning San Antonio. He's been at KSAT since 2010 and covered a variety of stories and events across the San Antonio area. He also covers the Spurs for on-air and digital platforms, including his Spurs newsletter. RJ has reported stories for KSAT Explains.