Texas A&M-Commerce is expected to hire Clint Dolezel as its next head coach, sources told FootballScoop on Wednesday.
Dolezel, 52, played at Texas A&M-Commerce when it was known as East Texas State in the early 1990s. After going undrafted in the NFL, Dolezel forged a career in arena football, where he promptly became arguably the most accomplished figure in the history of the sport.
He played for the Milwaukee Mustangs, Texas Terror, Houston Thundercats, Grand Rapids Rampage, Las Vegas Gladiators and Dallas Desperados, along the way winning three ArenaBowls, making three All-Arena teams, and entering the Arena Football Hall of Fame. In 2012, he was selected as the eighth greatest player in AFL history.
Dolezel moved into coaching in 2009 and earned a head coaching role the following year. He would go on to coach four different Arena teams and one in China, along the way posting a 114-50 record. He led the Beijing Lions to the China Bowl championship in 2016 and guided the Philadelphia Soul to back-to-back ArenaBowl championships. He last coached for the Frisco (Texas) Fighters in 2021.
A&M-Commerce will represent Dolezel's first college football job, and his first 11-man coaching job. The Lions moved into the Southland Conference of FCS this past season, and moved on from David Bailiff last month. The team went 5-6 in their debut Division I season.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.