McNeese (Southland) is welcoming back a familiar face as head coach of the football team: Matt Viator. Viator coached the Cowboys for a decade from 2006 through 2015 where he went 78-33 overall and 54-18 in the Southland. McNeese won four SLC titles, made 5 FCS Playoff appearances in that time, didn’t have a losing season, and left as the school’s all-time winningest coach.
Viator left the Cowboys after the 2015 season to take the reins at Louisiana-Monroe (Sun Belt) but never gained traction. In five seasons with the Warhawks, Viator went 19-39 overall, 15-24 in the Sun Belt, and did not have a winning season. In 2021, he became a quality coordinator for Louisiana (Sun Belt) where he has been since departing ULM.
Viator will be expected to return McNeese atop the Southland Conference and be a frequent visitor to the FCS Playoffs. Since his departure in 2015, the Cowboys haven’t made an FCS Playoff appearance and have had 4 winning seasons. Three of those years were either 6-5 or 7-4 with the best season coming in 2017 when they went 9-2 overall. Since 2020, McNeese is 17-34 overall and 11-23 in the Southland with Viator set to replace Gary Goff who was let go in November.
Photo Credit to USA Today / Bruce Thorson
