BREAKING: McNeese Fires Head Football Coach Gary Goff

McNeese State University is set to announce on Monday, that Head Football Coach Gary Goff has been relieved of his duties. The quest for the 19th Head Football Coach at McNeese has already begun.

The Lake Charles American Press and Jim Gazzolo reported the news first on Monday. In the report, Gazzolo reports that McNeese is making Defensive Coordinator Tony Pecoraro the interim Head Coach moving forward.

Coming off of a winless season, the seat for the Head Man of the Cowboys was no doubt hot. Per many reports, Goff was given a number of wins he had to achieve this season, whether that number was 6 or 7 was unclear until Monday Morning.

After the disaster that was the Battle of the Border on Saturday Night inside McNeese's Cowboy Stadium, some change was needed. There were punches thrown, helmets pulled off, spitting, arguing, and wild, inappropriate gestures between players from both teams. The coaches on both sides struggled to keep their teams under control as the players seemed more focused on taunting and fighting than on playing the game. The referees didn’t help much either—they lost control as soon as the game began.

For McNeese, the lifeline has always been football. McNeese has always been known as the powerhouse of the Southland Conference, but that is not the case anymore. The Cowboys have yet to achieve a winning season since the year 2019. With all other sports thriving, football has to take the next step and Athletics Director Heath Schroyer knows that is the case.

Goff’s first year in 2022 started with a rocky 1-7 record before the team gained momentum late in the season, finishing 4-7 after winning three straight games. However, the 2023 season proved to be the most challenging. Officially, the Cowboys were 1-10 after a forfeit win from Northwestern State, but they went winless on the field.

In 2024, McNeese fans saw significant improvement as the Cowboys achieved a 6-6 record, showing that the program was heading in the right direction. Despite the progress, the university decided to move in a new direction for its football program.

Who comes next? Well, that is the million-dollar question. The list should and will start with a little McNeese flavor, but the coming days will reveal that.