SAN MARCOS — The last time Texas State football head coach GJ Kinne participated in the Armed Forces Bowl was as a player.
TEXAS STATE VS. RICE
When/where: Noon Jan. 2 in Fort Worth.
TV/radio: ESPN
In 2011, the former quarterback led Tulsa in a matchup with BYU in Gerald J. Ford Stadium. BYU won 24-21 despite Kinne throwing for 214 yards and three touchdowns.
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However, he didn’t win MVP for the Golden Hurricanes. That honor went to defensive back Dexter McCoil, who recorded two interceptions in the loss. But Kinne’s former teammate won’t be on the sidelines when Texas State faces Rice in this year’s iteration of the game, as the program parted ways with the former defensive coordinator last week along with defensive line coach Mike O’Guin.
“That’s the tough part about this business, and the tough part about the chair that I sit in,” Kinne said. “Me and Dex go back a long way, and we’re extremely close. So that one for me was really tough.”
MORE: Texas State football to face Rice in Armed Forces Bowl game in Fort Worth
The Bobcats haven’t ever leaned on their defense under Kinne. They’ve mostly been a bend-don’t-break team that’s relied on a prolific offense to carry them through games. But in 2025, there was too much break.
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There were flashes from the defense this season. Quarters of good play in the beginning of the season and a closing stretch that led to the Bobcats earning bowl eligibility. But McCoil’s unit allowed 42.6 points per game during Texas State’s five-game losing streak. Kinne said there wasn’t enough consistency to justify bringing McCoil back.
Texas State has talked to a few candidates already for the defensive coordinator position, Kinne said. The coach is keeping an open mind to an internal or external hire, but mentioned that experience calling plays at another stop is important to him.
“I think I want to be a little bit more multiple than we have been,” Kinne said. “You saw a little bit of that in the last couple of games with the three-down stuff … but probably more importantly, who that person is coming in here, how they treat their players.”
Texas State Bobcats head coach GJ Kinne in the third quarter as the Texas State Bobcats take on the South Alabama Jaguars at UFCU Stadium in San Marcos, Nov. 29, 2025.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Texas State’s parallels to North Texas
Cornerbacks coach Matthew Gregg will serve as the interim defensive coordinator for the bowl game. But Texas State can and should look toward North Texas as inspiration for what the right hire can do.
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Former UNT head coach Eric Morris faced a similar predicament after the 2024 season, having scored 33.5 points per game while allowing 34.2 points per game. He cleaned house and hired Sam Houston defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity. The Bearkats had allowed 20.5 points under Cassity, who brought with a slew of assistants and transfers with him to Denton.
The Mean Green showed immediate improvement. Opponents have averaged 24.92 points this year and UNT nearly made the College Football Playoff before losing to Tulane in the American Conference championship game.
“Basically, they just stole Sam Houston’s entire defense,” Brett Vito, the UNT beat reporter for the Denton Record-Chronicle, told the American-Statesman. “That’s how they ended up turning it around; they got a good defense to compliment what they’re doing offensively.”
Potential fits as Texas State DC
Hiring a successful defensive coordinator away from a Football Bowl Subdivision team is easier said than done. What’s more likely is that Texas State dips into the Football Championship Subdivision ranks.
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Stephen F. Austin defensive coordinator Mike Mutz and Prairie View A&M defensive coordinator Brandon Andersen have had success at their respective schools. An ambitious target for Texas State would be Old Dominion defensive coordinator Blake Seiler, who led a defense that allowed 19.25 points per game in 2025.
Texas State plays Rice in the Armed Forces Bowl on Jan. 2 in Fort Worth.