Texas State defensive coordinator Dexter McCoil will not return to the Bobcats coaching staff after a poor season for his unit in 2025. McCoil, who became the DC at Texas State ahead of the 2024 season, will be replaced by cornerback coach Matthew Gregg for the bowl game while head coach G.J. Kinne searches for his third defensive coordinator in four years. 

Football Scoop was first to report.

McCoil was a fast riser in the coaching ranks under Kinne. The two played together at Tulsa and McCoil joined Kinne’s staff at Incarnate Word as the safeties coach in 2022. He followed Kinne to Texas State in 2023 when he became the safeties coach for the Bobcats, being elevated to defensive coordinator the next season when Jonathan Patke left. McCoil was an All-Star in the Canadian Football League before joining the coaching ranks. 

But the defense let Texas State down in its final season as a Sun Belt Conference member. The season was defined by a five-game losing streak where the defense allowed over 30 points in each defeat to start conference play. The Bobcats allowed 30.6 points per game, which ranked 112th nationally. That was nearly a touchdown more than McCoil’s unit allowed in 2014. It was the second time in three years that Texas State allowed more than 30 points on the season. 

The next DC hire for Kinne is pivotal. A few hours up I-35, Eric Morris struggled with finding a balance between a high-flying offense and a strong defense during his first two seasons at North Texas. He fired Matt Caponi after 2024, hired Skyler Cassity, and the program is about to play for the American Conference championship and a trip to the College Football Playoff. Kinne needs a similar transformation on that side of the ball by nailing the hire. 

Texas State remains one of the best offenses in the FBS and quarterback Brad Jackson’s assumed return means the Bobcats will be once again next season as Pac-12 members. Become above-average on defense and Texas State will contend in Year 1 in the Pac-12.