When Texas A&M-Commerce went searching for a new head coach, Clint Dolezel checked nearly every box on any fan’s wishlist for the new guy. He is an alum and a member of the school’s Hall of Fame as a three-sport athlete with ties to the days of East Texas State. But one box stood out among the rest.

Dolezel is known for his ability to coach explosive offenses and winning titles at the indoor football level. Many of the schemes that Dolezel used began seeping into college football and the NFL. 

But Texas A&M-Commerce has been known for its defense. Heck, a defensive coach, Colby Carthel, turned the program from the laughingstock of the LSC into national champions. The Lions continued to have dominant defenses that produced NFL talent under David Bailiff.

The problem is the Lions' offense began to take steps backward. The leading cause of the slide was an injury to quarterback Miklo Smalls in spring practice that exposed another problem with the roster. There was no depth on the offensive side of the ball.

Enter offensive guru Clint Dolezel. 

“The first thing we focused on with this class was our needs,” Dolezel said. “Our offense struggled last year, so that’s what we jumped on addressing right away. We had a young offensive line, so we looked to sign some players who could help now. We had a lot of young guys get experience on the offensive line last year, but the problem was they had to get a lot of experience.”

The new coaching staff’s focus on improving the offense was immediately apparent in the Lions' signing class during the early signing period. A&M-Commerce signed eight new players, including four offensive linemen. The Lions added three offensive linemen through the transfer portal, signing Elias De Leon (Bethune-Cookman), Logan Wylie (Stetson), and Kyle Bruce (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC).

After addressing the offensive line, Dolezel, and his staff focused on adding depth to the quarterback room. Last year’s starter, Eric Rodriguez, remains with the program and is expected to compete for starting quarterback depending on his recovery from a late-season surgery.

“We see him competing for the starting job. He had surgery before the Christmas break, so he’ll probably miss most of the spring practices,” Dolezel said. “That’s an area where we needed to build depth in our quarterback room, so we signed two transfers.”

It will be an intriguing competition at quarterback between Rodriguez, Peter Parrish, and Josh Magana. Parrish arrives in Commerce after playing for Buddy Stephens at East Mississippi Community College. The same Buddy Stephens and EMCC that became famous on Netflix’s “Last Chance U.”

Parrish led EMCC to the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference title last season while completing 74.1 percent of his pass attempts for 612 yards with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. Magana joins the Lions after playing at Reedley College in California. Magana threw for 1,505 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions last year.

“We’ve got our quarterbacks on campus going through offseason training and learning what we’ll do offensively. We addressed our biggest needs right away at quarterback and offensive line,” Dolezel said. “Our defense was pretty solid already. Some of the young guys we had playing last year on defense are going to be back. We have some guys we hope to sign on that side of the ball, but we’re happy with who we have on defense.”

Andrew Armstrong entered the transfer portal after being one of the top wide receivers in FCS last year and eventually signed with Arkansas. Dolezel believes the Lions will have quality depth at wide receiver this season.

“We have some players that we feel will be good for us,” Dolezel said. “Kevin LeDee was injured most of last season, and he was a big piece they missed last year. Jaden Proctor is another guy we feel will be big for us this year. That’s a position we think high school kids can compete for playing time immediately.”

Zadock Dinkleman will return to tight end after filling in at quarterback last year. One would be remiss if you think Dolezel doesn’t know how to coach offense with 11 men on the field, and his offense will have plenty of packages with a tight end or H-back.

Dolezel understands the expectations he inherited when he became the Lions' head coach.

“We have a rich tradition of winning around here,” Dolezel said. “If we don’t win, then something’s gone wrong, and they make changes around here.”

If the Lions' 2023 recruiting class is any indication, the A&M-Commerce offense will improve. Add a solid defense to the improved offense, and the Lions could have the recipe needed to compete in the Southland Conference.