Larry Coker, who built UTSA from scratch, steps down

UTSA head coach Larry Coker chats with a game official during the game against Kansas State at the Alamodome on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015.

Larry Coker will not return as head coach at UTSA, multiple media outlets are reporting. The staff had two other assistant jobs that needed to be refilled, but it looks like the next UTSA coach will have to take that responsibility now.

The Oklahoma native led Miami to a 60-15 mark with a national championship from 2001-06. The Roadrunners had consecutive losing seasons the next two years.

In a statement, Coker called UTSA a “special place” and said he was grateful for the chance to coach there.

Coker or UTSA officials have not commented publicly on the decision. “It required an incredible amount of hard work and dedication over the past six years”.

Coker built the Roadrunners football program from the ground up and has been the UTSA’s only head coach since its inception. Coker has been at the helm for the Roadrunners since the football program was brought into existence in 2011. The two-time National Coach of the Year mentored 26 first-team All-Americans, 97 first-team all-conference players and 90 student-athletes who earned academic all-conference accolades. His best season with the Roadrunners was 8-4 in 2012 but the team never made it a bowl game.

UTSA will be searching for a new head coach at the same time Texas State will also be looking for a new coach. Coker’s contract that he agreed to in 2014 runs through 2018 and guaranteed the coach $2.25 million over five years.