There is a legitimate argument to be made that Sam Houston State is the worst team in college football. It sounds like there is real trouble in Huntsville and it seems to stem from first-year head coach Phil Longo.
He lost the locker room before the season started and it’s only getting worse.
Bearkats players and assistant coaches do not understand how the college football program in Huntsville fell so hard so fast. They are frustrated by a lot of false promises and a failure of competence.
Who is Phil Longo?
This is a name that most casual fans of the sport likely would not know. Longo has served only in high-ranking offensive roles over the last few seasons but he isn’t a big name like Chip Kelly or even Ryan Grubb.
He actually worked as the offensive coordinator at Sam Houston State from 2014-16 and led one of the most high-powered offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision. Matt Luke hired him to the same role at Ole Miss in 2017, which he left for the same job at North Carolina in 2019.
Rebels fans were thrilled by his departure. Although Ole Miss often put up insane numbers using a high-octane air-raid system, its offense frequently stalled inside of the red zone and lost a lot of games. All of the success took place between the 20s. Longo couldn’t score.
As an additional example of the offensive negligence, Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox was on the roster at Ole Miss at the time. He never caught a single touchdown!
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Longo ran a concept called “get open.” Believe it or not, the entire play revolved around his players just… getting open. There was no rhyme or reason. They did not have to run designed routes.
To be fair, Phil Longo had great success at UNC. He guided quarterback Sam Howell to multiple school records and produced multiple 1,000-yard+ wide receivers— just like he did in Oxford.
But the Tar Heels never won more than nine games. It was more of the same. Big numbers, limited results.
From there, Longo went to Wisconsin in 2022. He was fired before the end of his second season with the Badgers.
Sam Houston State is in shambles.
Sam Houston State hired Longo to replace K.C Keeler on the heels of a historic 10-win season in 2024. The Bearkats dropped to 0-7 in front of a nonexistent crowd on Wednesday.
Absolutely no one at this game.
— Adrian Broaddus (@AdrianBroaddus) October 15, 2025
🎥 @stevekaplowitz #MinerTalk pic.twitter.com/FB1bE2qTt1
There are a number of reasons for the poor attendance but record is the most obvious. They could absolutely finish this year without a single win. The stands would be full if they were 7-0.
Longo also lost the fanbase.
As someone who lived through (and covered) the ‘Longo Ball’ era at Ole Miss, I tried to warn the parents at Sam Houston State of what was coming when they traveled to Western Kentucky in Week 0. They were excited about his numbers but I told them to curb their expectations based on what I saw first-hand.
Unfortunately, it sounds like things in Huntsville are going even worse than anyone could’ve expected. I’m not surprised, per say, but I didn’t think it would be quite this bad.
According to multiple sources within the program, Longo and Sam Houston State have not made good on their promises. They essentially flipped the roster through the transfer portal during the offseason. A lot of those new players were promised playing time and/or financial compensation they did not get.
The date kept changing. Players were told they would get paid on a specific day. That day came. No money.
Rinse, repeat. It kept happening.
There is always more to this side of the business. The current era of college football lacks regulation. Disgruntled players are going to be frustrated with their current situation, especially on a team that has yet to win a game more than halfway through the season. I’ll give the Bearkats the benefit of the doubt in who they are choosing to pay and when.
However, the problems allegedly go far beyond the unkept verbal and/or written agreements.
Where is the head coach?
Longo supposedly stopped attending team meetings after the first few games of the year. Players would set an Over/Under for when he would arrive to the team facility. The Over usually hit. He often did not show up until it was time for practice and skipped out on the meetings all together.
To make matters worse, Longo does not know his own roster. His players feel like their coach refuses to register the information provided to him by the staff each week in terms of nutrition and progress in the weight room. He plays the guys he wants to play based on his own opinion, not the tangible results.
Meanwhile, the Bearkats averaged less than 300 total yards per game, with just 180 through the air and 114 on the ground. Perhaps it would be smart to shake things up and see who can provide a spark!
Those complaints do not even include the Xs and Os. The head coach refuses to take accountability for the offensive issues.
What is he calling?
According to multiple sources, the specific play “get open” no longer exists within Longo’s system but the general concept lives on. A large part of the ‘Longo Ball’ offense in Huntsville still relies on the players to just get open on their own by running around the field without any further instruction.
Sam Houston State at one point struggled to get anything going against a specific defensive front. They kept running and/or passing the ball toward the loaded side of the field. Longo could not figure out why his play calls were not working.
As it would turn out, the head coach completely misread the defensive front. He had it backwards.
An assistant coach had to apologize on Longo’s behalf during the next team meeting. Longo called plays thinking the defense front was set in the other direction. That is the first thing a coach should check.
Players are sick and tired of this current situation in Huntsville. They are actively searching for a way out.
I fully expect a mass exodus to the portal in the coming months. It could come even sooner if their head coach gets fired, which opens a 30-day transfer window.
Phil Longo should not return in 2026 based on record alone but I actually think he will. He’ll probably get at least one more year. Stay tuned.