Wednesday evening update> The University has now announced the hire:
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Sterlin Gilbert will be the next McNeese State head coach, sources told FootballScoop on Wednesday barring any unforeseen issues.
Gilbert was also a candidate for the Texas State job, which ultimately went to West Virginia offensive coordinator Jake Spavital.
Gilbert has spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator at South Florida, and prior to that spent a season with Charlie Strong at Texas in the same capacity.
A product of the Art Briles coaching tree, Gilbert coordinated offenses for former Briles assistant Dino Babers at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green and for longtime Briles lieutenant Philip Montgomery at Tulsa before joining Strong in Austin in 2016.
Gilbert hails from San Angelo, Texas and played quarterback at Angelo State. He began his coaching career as an assistant in the state's high school ranks. Aside from a season as a Briles graduate assistant at Houston, he spent the first seven years of his career in high school football, including a 3-year stint as the head coach at San Angelo's Lake View High School from 2008-10.
Gilbert was selected by his peers as the FCS Offensive Coordinator of the Year at Eastern Illinois in 2013.
He is set to take over a McNeese State program that went 6-5 in 2018 under previous head coach Lance Guidry. Guidry was not retained last month after three years leading the program.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.