On the same day Missouri State appeared in its first bowl game, the Bears secured the head coach who will lead the program moving forward.
- According to multiple reports, SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods has been hired as Missouri State’s next head coach. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that the school is in the process of finalizing a five-year contract with Woods, with an official announcement expected as early as Friday morning. Woods succeeds Ryan Beard as the program’s second head coach at the FBS level, marking his first opportunity to serve as a head coach at any level of college football.
Woods spent the past four seasons at SMU (2022–25), where he helped guide the Mustangs to conference title game appearances in the American Athletic Conference in 2023 and the ACC in 2024. He also played a key role in leading SMU to the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024. During his tenure as play-caller, SMU’s offenses ranked 12th, 8th, 8th, and 27th nationally in scoring, highlighted by an average of 38.7 points per game during the 2023 AAC championship season. In total offense, the Mustangs finished 14th, 16th, 27th, and 35th nationally, consistently showcasing a balanced attack despite cycling through three starting quarterbacks and four primary running backs over four years.
Before joining SMU, Woods gained valuable experience in Missouri while serving as Missouri’s tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator from 2020–21. In his final season on Eli Drinkwitz’s staff, he helped assemble a top-10 national recruiting class, and his familiarity with the region is expected to benefit Missouri State. A former Tennessee wide receiver, Woods has also held numerous coaching and administrative roles throughout his career, including graduate assistant at Tennessee (2009), offensive quality control coach at Auburn (2010–11), wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Arkansas State (2012), director of player personnel at Auburn (2013–15), and run game coordinator, tight ends coach, and recruiting coordinator at UAB (2017–19).
At 42 years old, Woods replaces Ryan Beard, who led Missouri State from 2023–25 and oversaw the program’s successful transition to the FBS level. The Bears enter their Thursday night Xbox Bowl matchup against Arkansas State with a 7–5 record. Missouri State avoided any poor losses this season, with all five defeats coming against teams that finished with winning records. One of those losses came against Woods’ SMU squad, which defeated the Bears 28–10 in Week 3.
Woods is set to make his head coaching debut at Missouri State on Saturday, Sept. 5, when the Bears open the season on the road against Texas A&M in a Week 1 matchup at Kyle Field.
