The search to find the next head coach at Midwestern State began nearly one month ago when Bill Maskill met with Athletic Director Kyle Williams for approximately two hours following the end of Maskill’s 22nd year at the helm of the Mustangs.

Unbeknownst to many, Maskill had decided to retire from coaching. He finished his legendary career at MSU with a 160-71 overall record and is easily the winningest coach in program history.

The search didn’t become public because Williams knew the 13th head coach in MSU history was already on staff. So, the transition soon began between Maskill and his long-time defensive coordinator, Rich Renner.

“I sat down with (Maskill) for an hour and a half to two hours, and honestly, I couldn’t talk him out of (retiring),” Williams said during Renner’s introductory press conference. “We’re in a position we feel good about with our program replacing a legend in Bill Maskill and his legendary wife, Mary Helen. We appreciate his 22 years of tremendous coaching discipline. Now, we embark on a new era with a new person to lead our football program.”

The Mustangs were built on hard work and discipline under Maskill. Renner made clear those standards weren’t changing as he laid out his plan for the program and recruiting. 

“I want recruits that want to be here. Recruits that want to be a Mustang,” Renner said. “I don’t want the recruits that will be here for a year and then go into the portal. We need to show them that Wichita Falls and Midwestern State is the place to be. We have a great community and city. We also have great faculty and staff here.”

Renner said he is not planning on serving as defensive coordinator or call plays on defense next season after successfully leading the MSU defense for the last 16 seasons.

“I hope to bring somebody in to run the defense. It’s hard to do both, to be honest with you. I know Coach (Gary) Patterson did it for many years at TCU, but he’s probably a little better defensive coordinator and defensive coach than I am,” Renner said. “I need to see both sides of the ball and special teams. Hopefully, I’ll be able to pass that to one of our assistants.”

It was apparent Renner knew how to command a room during his first appearance as a head coach in front of the media. It’s also evident that Renner is loved by many inside and outside of football. In an age when adverse reactions from the public can doom a potential coach’s chances, the response to Renner becoming the head coach was overwhelmingly positive on social media.

“I was raised by my mother and father to treat people how you want to be treated. You make sure that you serve those around you,” Renner said. “Texas high school football coaches are unbelievable, and they’ve been great to us. I’ve developed a lot of great relationships over my 23 years here.

“It was awesome to see the text messages and phone calls from across the state of Texas from high school coaches that I’ve had an opportunity to influence. They’ve also had an influence on me. I’ve been able to pick their brains about being a head coach and making head coaching decisions.”

While it was apparent that Renner is now the leader of the Mustangs program, he knows a legendary head coach he can contact with questions in the future.

“We were up late last night recruiting, and we’ll be up late again tonight recruiting and trying to continue to build this program to fill the holes we lost from our seniors,” Renner said. “I went through giving out my first offer with Coach Maskill today. I thank him for the mentorship, answering all the questions, and being there for me. He’s a voice that I’m confident I can always ask for answers to questions, and that’s awesome.”