Note: This story is featured in the 2026 edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football's Summer Magazine, which you can order here.

_

The head coaching triumvirate of Eric Morris, G.J. Kinne, and Clint Killough transformed Incarnate Word from one of the worst non-FBS jobs in Texas to one of the best FCS gigs in the country over the last decade.  

The Cardinals were 42-10 overall and 24-3 in Southland Conference play from 2021-2024. They reached the playoffs four times and claimed at least a share of four SLC crowns during that stretch. Killough, who took over for Kinne in 2023, was 20-5 with a trip to the FCS quarterfinals under his belt through two seasons and one of the fastest rising young coaches in the FCS ranks.  

But the 33-year-old head coach learned a valuable lesson when his Cardinals limped to a 5-7 record last year, snapping a streak of four straight winning seasons.  

“I found out I wasn’t Superman,” Killough conceded. “There’s just so many different dynamics that you take for granted when you’re trying to do it all. I didn’t think our alignment was correct and it trickled down in terms of our relationship with the players. We’ve made some wholesale changes and I love where we’re at now.” 

The first change was hiring offensive coordinator Justin Bane, who was the FootballScoop Coordinator of the Year in 2023 while at Central Missouri in Division II. He spent 2025 at West Texas A&M where he engineered an offense that averaged 37.08 points per game. He’ll call plays, which should free up Killough to be more head coach and CEO than offensive coordinator in the head coach’s office.  

UIW became known for high-scoring offenses over the last decade. But the 2025 offense took a step back, at least relatively. The unit did rank 25th nationally in passing offense and led the SLC in total offense against Division I opponents, but it wasn’t up to program’s standards. The 2025 offense was the first to average fewer than 30 points per game (25.67) and throw for fewer than 3,000 yards (2,948) in a season since 2017 – the year before Morris arrived. 

Killough believes Bane and a new-look quarterback room that includes UC Davis transfer David Rasor should help the Cardinals get their groove back. The Cardinals also plan to add a summer enrollee with experience to the QB competition.  

Wide receivers Jameson Garcia and Isaiah Champagne return from season-ending injuries that cost them most of 2025. Lontrell Turner, another player lost to season-ending injury a year ago, should lead the running back room.  

Offensive linemen Kam Newhouse and Matt Lewis have waited their turn and are ready to be key contributors in 2026. UIW hit the transfer portal to add potential starters in the trenches such as Ryan Dirksen, a tackle who started 12 games at Bryant University last year, and guard Easton Fulton from West Texas A&M.  

The defense also received an overhaul with long-time assistant Ben Olson becoming defensive coordinator. The building blocks on that side of the ball includes cornerback Lamont Johnson-Burrell, safety Buddha Garrett, edge rusher Walt Gray, and linebacker Christian Barney, who is expected to replace Declan Rice in the middle of the Cardinals defense.  

The climb back to the top of the Southland isn’t about talent, however. It’s about mentality. Killough said he failed as a leader in 2025 because he allowed complacency and entitlement to creep into his program. He won’t make the same mistake again. UIW took note of how SLC opponents celebrated after knocking off the Cardinals like they had won a Super Bowl. That excitement is a testament to what has been built in San Antonio, and the program believes 2025 was a one-year blip that reignited the fire and passion that fueled the Cardinals’ original rise.  

“We’ve got a chip on our shoulder,” Killough said. “The standard here is to win a championship, period, the end. That’s what we intend to do. That doesn’t change. I believe in this staff and I believe in these players.”  

DCTF Take  

Head coach Clint Killough chalked up a disappointing 2025 campaign – the first losing season for UIW since 2019 – to entitlement and complacency and he made changes at offensive and defensive coordinator to rectify those issues heading into his fourth season in charge. Expect the Cardinals to rebound and compete for a Southland Conference title, something they’ve claimed at least a share of four times since 2018.