Morehouse College has announced that they are hiring former Atlanta Falcons standout Terance Mathis as the institution’s next head football coach. The institution announced the hire via a post on their social media outlets on Friday afternoon.
“Morehouse announces the appointment of Terance Mathis as the new head coach of the Maroon Tigers football team. A former NFL star and accomplished coach, Mathis brings a wealth of experience and a passion for the game that will undoubtedly inspire the team to new heights,” the caption read.
Mathis was drafted by the New York Jets in 1990 after an outstanding career at the University of New Mexico, where he excelled as a two-sport athlete in football and basketball. He later joined the Atlanta Falcons in 1994, recording 111 passes and ranking third in the NFL for touchdown receptions. These remarkable achievements earned Mathis a well-deserved selection to the Pro Bowl that season.
In 1998, he made his first post-season appearance, playing in Super Bowl XXXIII for the Atlanta Falcons. During the Super Bowl, he led the Falcons in receptions with seven for 85 yards, including a three-yard touchdown catch. Mathis left a lasting legacy with the Falcons, becoming the team’s all-time leader in touchdowns and receptions.
Mathis also has some HBCU coaching experience, serving as Offensive Coordinator and Inside Receivers Coach for Savannah State in 2011 & 2012. Mathis’s hire comes as the news of Hue Jackson possibly becoming head coach of the program hit a fever pitch early last week. Per a report by Kyle T. Mosely of Sports Illustrated-HBCU Legends, talks with Jackson fell apart because both parties couldn’t reach an agreement on terms.
With his hire, Mathis has been given the task of rebuilding the Morehouse College program, which is one of the original members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). While Morehouse has had success in football in the past, they have struggled to maintain a competitive program in recent decades. Since 2000, they have had eleven winning seasons and even made it to the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2010 under head coach Rich Freeman.
In the 2023 season, Morehouse finished with a 1-9 record, securing their only victory against in-city rival Clark Atlanta University. Gerard Wilcher, a Morehouse football alumnus, served as the team’s coach but was dismissed at the end of the season. The circumstances surrounding his departure sparked controversy, as he hinted on social media that undisclosed problems hindered his efforts to develop the team effectively.
“Please know that I tried every day to uplift my beloved Morehouse,” he said in the statement. “Statistically, we improved in almost every category. We played a challenging schedule with only 2 home games and even though we asked numerous times, we were not given the resources to have a strength and conditioning program. I was hired after the recruiting season and had no recruiting budget. However, the College has made the decision to no longer retain me rather than give us the support and resources we need in order to be successful.”