Matt Viator is coming home.

The winningest coach in McNeese State history will return in hopes of restoring the once-elite football program.

The American Press has learned that Viator agreed to return to the Cowboys sidelines after a nine-year absence Monday in a meeting with Athletic Director Heath Schroyer.

A press conference is set for noon Wednesday.

“I couldn’t be happier to welcome back Coach Matt Viator, a legend and Hall of Famer,” said Schroyer. “This program needs everything Coach Viator is: A winner, a man who embraces this community wholeheartedly.”

Viator was inducted into the McNeese Hall of Fame in 2021.

“He is the man who will bring back structure, discipline, and accountability,” Schroyer added. “Under Coach Viator, we will return McNeese to a winning football brand.

“We will bring back the pride, toughness, and grit that this program once had. We did all that and more with this move.”

Viator spent 10 years as the Cowboys head coach between 2006-15, winning a record 78 games, which ties him for the most in McNeese history with Bobby Keasler. His teams won four Southland Conference championships and made the FCS playoffs five times but never got a win.

He has been named the league’s Coach of the Year three times, including his last season with the Pokes in 2015. After that season, Viator moved to Louisiana-Monroe, where he spent five years as the head coach and posted a 19-39 record.

During his 15 seasons as a head coach, Viator’s teams combined for a 97-72 record. Most importantly to McNeese fans, his Cowboy teams were 54-18 within the Southland, good for a .750 winning percentage.

The 61-year-old will return to a very different McNeese program and college football scene. When he first became the Cowboys head coach, it was a well-oiled machine that was always in the national spotlight.

Now he returns to a program that has struggled and hasn’t had a winning season since 2019, the longest such stretch in school history.

A graduate of McNeese, Viator began his coaching career on the high school level in Southwest Louisiana. He moved to college in 1999 as the Cowboys linebackers coach.

In 2000, he became McNeese’s offensive coordinator, a job he kept until becoming the head coach. In 2002, Viator helped the Cowboys reach the Division I-AA national championship game.

That was the last season McNeese won a playoff game, having lost their sixth straight.

Viator spent three years as the offensive quality control coach under Michael Desormeaux at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He took this current season off.

In previous conversations with the American Press, Viator stated he would be happy to help with McNeese in some role but wasn’t sure he wanted to be a head coach again.

That apparently changed during his time off and the program’s continued struggles.

Since his departure, McNeese has gone just 45-51 overall and 32-37 in conference play. The numbers are even worse over the last five seasons.

The Cowboys have cratered to 17-34 and 10-23.

“I am elated with this hire,” said McNeese President Dr. Wade Rousse. “Coach Viator is exactly what we need at exactly the right time to bring Cowboy football back to The Hole on Saturday nights.

“In addition, we do not believe being fiscally responsible and winning are mutually exclusive. Culture and schemes are important variables in the winning equation.

“This hire supports that line of reasoning.”