Soon after being named the 21^st head football coach in Texas State football history, G.J. Kinne began constructing his coaching staff.
Kinne, who at 34 years old is the second youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision, has prioritized youth when assembling his staff. No member of the new Texas State coaching staff is over the age of 40. 
Kinne comes to Texas State fresh off his inaugural season as a head coach at the University of the Incarnate Word in 2022. The Cardinals produced the highest-scoring offense in both the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Football Championship Subdivision, averaging 53 points per game.
Kinne led Incarnate Word to its greatest season in program history, achieving a 12-2 record and reaching the FCS semifinals. Given the immense success the Cardinals had in 2022, it is no surprise that the majority of Kinne’s assistant coaches chose to follow him down the road to San Marcos. 
Seven of the 10 members of Texas State’s new coaching staff coached with Kinne last season at Incarnate Word.
Mark Leftwich was announced as Texas State’s new offensive coordinator on Dec. 16. He held the same position at Incarnate Word and was the architect of the nation’s most explosive offense that averaged 53 points and 581 yards of total offense per game. 
Running backs coach Kam Martin also comes to Texas State from Incarnate Word, where he also held the same position. The former Auburn standout and Kinne go back years, having coached together since their time together at the University of Central Florida in 2021. According to Martin, this was a key factor in his decision to join Kinne’s new staff at Texas State. 
“I’ve been with coach Kinne for going on three years now. We’ve always had a really good relationship,” Martin said. “It’s truly a blessing to work for a man like coach Kinne. He’s a player’s coach and he really cares about his players.” 
Offensive line coach Jordan Shoemaker and tight ends coach Will Bryant also joined the staff to coach the same positions they were in charge of at Incarnate Word.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jonathan Patke will be running the Bobcat defense as defensive coordinator. He was hired on Dec. 22, one day after early National Signing Day. Under Patke last season, the Cardinals’ defense led the entire country in tackles for loss and ranked in the top 10 in sacks and takeaways. The defense also allowed the fewest points per game at 19 and the second-fewest yards per game at 338 in the Southland Conference. 
Cornerbacks coach Matthew Gregg and safeties coach Dexter McCoil Jr. will also reprise the coaching positions they held last season at Incarnate Word.
There are three coaches on Texas State’s staff that were not a part of Incarnate Word in 2022. Defensive line coach Mike O’Guin, wide receivers and passing game coordinator Craig Stutzman and special teams coordinator and associate head coach Daniel Da Prato were all hired by Kinne from other programs. Strength and conditioning coordinator Bret Huth is also a non-Incarnate Word addition to the Texas State staff. 
O’Guin who comes to Texas State after having coached defensive line at Sam Houston State for the past two years said there was a multitude of different reasons why he elected to join the Bobcat staff. 
“Coach Kinne, him being the young energetic coach… him being able to do that at UIW with all the success they had there, a chance to coach in coach Patke’s aggressive 4-2-5 scheme — a similar scheme I was in my last couple years at Sam Houston,” O’Guin said. “And of course, a chance to get to work with my best friends, so all those things lined up, and the chance to come to [Texas State]. I thought the opportunity was too great to pass up.” 
Da Prato, who comes to San Marcos after a three-year stint at the University of South Florida, had similar reasons for deciding to become part of Texas State’s coaching staff. 
“I’d start with coach Kinne and his path and how he carries himself on a daily basis his leadership, his mentoring of young men and obviously the recent success he’s had as a head coach,” Da Prato said. 
Da Prato said Texas State as a university and a football program was a big draw to him. 
“Texas State, San Marcos, this university, this program and the direction I believe we are heading now with the support of the athletic department and our athletic director Don Coryell and from [President Kelly Damphousse], who is highly involved and excited and energetic about athletics and football,” Da Prato said.
Thus far, Kinne and his staff have said all of the right things and pressed all of the right buttons. Time will tell if they will be able to lead the Texas State football program to unprecedented new heights.