A source close to the McMurry University athletic program has informed Big Country Preps that former Cooper and Hardin-Simmons quarterback Jordan Neal will officially be named as the next head football coach of the War Hawks on Thursday.
Neal, who has been a part of the Hendrix College staff since 2012, is currently serving as the Warriors’ offensive coordinator.
Prior to his arrival at Hendrix College, Neal served as the offensive line coach at Texas Lutheran in 2012 and was the offensive coordinator at Howard Payne University in Brownwood from 2008-11.
At Hendrix he helped to reinstall a football program that had been dormant from 1960 through 2012. In their first season back with Neal guiding the offense, the Warriors posted a 3-7 mark with averages of 33.7 points and 420.8 yards per game.
Consistent improvement followed from 2014-17, with successive records of 6-4, 8-3, 7-3 and 8-2 before finally slipping to 2-8 this season.
Along the way, the Warriors broke the NCAA Division III record for total offense with more than 600 yards per game in 2016.
At McMurry, Neal will replace former coach Lance Hinson, who resigned on Nov. 12 after posting a 14-35 mark over five seasons.
Neal will inherit a club that finished 2-8 in 2018, including an 83-6 loss to his alma mater, Hardin-Simmons, on Nov. 10.
After his 2001 graduation from Cooper, where he was a standout quarterback with the Cougars, Neal had a highly successful playing career with HSU, taking ASC Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2006. He graduated from HSU holding 16 school records, including a career passing mark of 8,347 yards.