Eleven days after KC Keeler took the Temple job, Sam Houston is hitting the final stage of its first coaching search in more than a decade.
On Thursday, Dave Campbell's Texas Football reported the Bearkats are down to six finalists, with on-campus interviews to occur late this week. FootballScoop has spoken to one candidate today who will trek to Huntsville tonight with an interview on Friday.
The six candidates, DCTF reported, are:
-- Houston quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Shawn Bell
-- Pitt defensive line coach Tim Daoust
-- Former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Phil Longo
-- Missouri running backs coach Curtis Luper
-- Baylor defensive coordinator Matt Powledge
-- Oregon assistant head coach/running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples
All six have ties to Sam Houston and/or the state of Texas. All six would be first-time head coaches*.
Daoust was Sam's assistant head coach and defensive line coach from 2019-20; Longo was Keeler's first offensive coordinator at SHSU from 2014-16; and Powledge is a Huntsville, Texas, native who played fullback at SHSU from 2005-09 and coached special teams and running backs for Keeler from 2014-15.
Bell is the older brother of former Sam quarterback Brian Bell; he played quarterback at Baylor and has spent the past eight years coaching at Baylor and Houston. Luper is a Sherman, Texas, native who finished his college career at Stephen F. Austin and has coached at SFA, Texas A&M-Commerce and TCU. Samples is the son of legendary Texas high school football coach Reginald Samples; he played at Houston and has coached at Houston, Texas, and SMU.
Keeler left Sam Houston after going 97-39 over 11 seasons. He won the program's only NCAA national championship in the spring of 2021, reached four FCS semifinals, and put the team in its first FBS bowl game, which takes place a week from today against Georgia Southern. Look for the school to have its new hire selected and announced before then.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
* - Longo spent two seasons as the head coach of La Salle's now-defunct program from 2004-05. FootballScoop regrets the error.