Sam Houston is hiring former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Phil Longo as its coach, the school announced Wednesday.
Longo, 56, succeeds K.C. Keeler, who spent 10 years with the Bearkats but left earlier this month to take the Temple job.
It’s familiar territory for Longo, who served as an offensive coordinator at Sam Houston under Keeler. Longo spent three seasons in Huntsville, Texas, leading the Bearkats to a school-record 49.5 points per game average in 2016. That season, Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe won the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the most outstanding offensive player in the FCS, with Longo as OC and quarterbacks coach.
Longo, who has 24 years of college coaching experience across multiple levels, bounced around the FBS after leaving Sam Houston, serving as offensive coordinator at Ole Miss (2017-18), North Carolina (2019-22) and Wisconsin (2023-24). He was fired by Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell last month.
We got our guy 🫡
Welcome back to Huntsville, @CoachPhilLongo! #EatEmUpKats
🔗 https://t.co/9BK7b9BX8e pic.twitter.com/vTKIzsNRyu
— Sam Houston Football (@BearkatsFB) December 18, 2024
Bringing Longo back to Sam Houston lines up with one of the objectives athletic director Bobby Williams had when he launched the search to replace Keeler. He preferred someone who understood the inner workings of the school, especially considering the budget challenges Sam Houston has had after moving up to the FBS in 2023.
“You’d like to have someone that has worked here or been here that understands Sam Houston, played here and those type of things,” Williams said on the “BSN Xtra” podcast earlier this month. “Because we’ve got a lot of really good quality coaches out there that have come through our program and know the success (and) … know who we are as a university.”
The Bearkats hope Longo can continue the success the program has enjoyed in the last 14 years. They went 40-15 in four seasons under Willie Fritz and 97-39 under Keeler, who had six seasons of 10-plus wins. Fritz and Keeler combined for three appearances in the FCS national championship game and six semifinal appearances. Keeler led Sam Houston to a national title in 2021.
The Bearkats went 34-10 in the three seasons Longo served as offensive coordinator (2014-16), winning two conference championships and making two FCS semifinal appearances.
Sam Houston is 12-12 since moving up to the FBS and 8-8 in Conference USA play. The Bearkats started 0-8 in their debut season but Keeler turned the Bearkats around in 2024, going 9-3 and earning the program’s first bowl appearance. Sam Houston plays Georgia Southern in the New Orleans Bowl on Thursday.
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(Photo: Mark Hoffman / USA Today)
