Texas Southern athletic director Dr. Kevin Granger announced Monday that the contract for head football coach Clarence McKinney will not be renewed.
“Texas Southern University will not renew the contract of head football coach Clarence McKinney when it expires on Dec. 15, 2023,” said Granger in a statement. “We wish Coach McKinney well moving forward. The University will begin a nationwide search for our next head coach immediately.”
HBCU Sports first reported last Monday that the school had reached its decision not to move forward with McKinney beyond this season.
In his fifth season as the school’s head coach, McKinney, 52, was in the final year of his contract, which now pays him $306,000 and is set to expire on Dec. 15.
Since he was named head coach in December 2018, the program under McKinney’s leadership struggled to find wins, resulting in him amassing a cumulative record of 12-35. His last game was a 35-34 loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday after Texas Southern had built a 21-point lead in the game. Texas Southern finished the 2023 season 3-8.
McKinney’s first season in 2019 ended without a single win, followed by only one win during a shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent seasons during 2021 and 2022 resulted in a combined record of 8-14.
Before arriving at TSU, McKinney, a Houston native, served as Arizona’s associate head coach and running backs coach. He was also a running backs coach at Texas A&M and Houston.