Some 30 years removed from the site of their greatest triumphs as NFL teammates, former Houston Oilers defensive backs Cris Dishman (Texas Southern) and Bubba McDowell (Prairie View) will write a new chapter in their long-time friendship as SWAC head coaches in the annual Labor Day Classic on Saturday night.
Both men are excited about the new season, and at Monday’s SWAC coaches’ press conference, they promised little would change in their friendship – or approach to football – leading up to and after the game.
“Bubba and I are always going to remain friends, no matter what the outcome of this game is,” said Dishman, who was named the Tigers’ head coach in January after a long search by the Texas Southern Board of Regents. “Coach McDowell has been very instrumental in me having this job, so I could never see us not being friends.”
“We’ve got two brothers who love each other, but this game is not about Cris Dishman or Bubba McDowell; it’s about Texas Southern and Prairie View and the product we need to put out there on the field come Saturday night,” added McDowell, who comes into his third season at PVAMU with a 12-11 overall record and the 2023 Western Division championship to his credit.
Friends quickly become rivals in SWAC opener
Dishman and McDowell were integral parts of the Oilers’ infamous “House of Pain” defense that helped win 51 games and two AFC Central titles between 1989 and 1993. Dishman, a cornerback, and McDowell, a safety, were both All-Pros in 1991. Those days have since passed and now these former teammates are looking forward to competing against each other, and the process has already begun.
“The only thing I’m mad at Bubba about today is he promised to pick me up and he never showed up,” Dishman said with a slight smile. “I get here to the press conference, and I see he’s sitting here waiting on me.”
Even if commuting to press conferences together isn’t happening just yet, McDowell is still willing to help Dishman get used to the SWAC.
“It’s fun to have him in the SWAC right now. We talk every other week just to stay in contact and catch up with each other,” he says. “If he’s got any questions about how things are run in the SWAC, I’m always willing to share with my brother. I know he’s going to have these guys going, put his stamp on the program and have these guys running free and playing good football pretty soon.”
