A few days ago, former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and former XFL San Antonio Brahmas’ head coach Hines Ward was reportedly in the running for the head-coaching job at Texas Southern University.
Four days after that report first surfaced, Texas Southern has a new head football coach — and it isn’t Ward.
According to a tweet from Texas Southern, the university is hiring former NFL defensive back Cris Dishman as the school’s new head coach.
Dishman played in the NFL for 13 years, spending eight seasons with the Houston Oilers, two seasons each with the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington, and one season with the Minnesota Vikings.
Prior to being hired as the head coach of Texas Southern, Dishman was the defensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Vipers of the XFL, coaching under former Steelers defensive back Rod Woodson in 2022 before Woodson resigned. Prior to his time in the XFL, Dishman was the defensive coordinator of the New Jersey Generals in the USFL in 2021.
Before hiring Dishman, Texas Southern reportedly pursued former NFL wide receiver Andre Johnson for the job but received pushback from donors due to Johnson’s lack of coaching experience. In turn, the school reportedly pursued Ward, who was let go as the XFL-UFL San Antonio Brahmas’ head coach weeks ago and replaced by Wade Phillips.
Ward went 3-7 in his lone season as head coach of San Antonio in 2023. Since then, there has been some speculation that he could return to Pittsburgh as the next wide receivers coach, though current Steelers wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson remains in his role with no signs of a separation coming.
Prior to his role as head coach of the Brahmas, Ward was the wide receivers coach at Floria Atlantic University and was previously an assistant for the New York Jets. The Texas Southern job is the only one that Ward has been publicly connected to since leaving San Antonio.
