It was a welcome worthy of a conquering hero.

McNeese State re-introduced Matt Viator as its new head coach 19 years after he first got the job.

With a crowd of Cowboy faithful on hand Wednesday, Viator officially became the 19th head football coach in school history nine seasons after leaving. 

With that, he becomes the first football coach to lead the program twice, serving in the position for 10 seasons from 2006-2015. During that time, he won four Southland Conference championships and posted a 78-33 record, tying him with Bobby Keasler for the most wins in program history.

“I don’t know how to put it into words how honored I am to be back here.” Viator told the crowd. 

The fans and ex-players are happy he is back.

“This is a home run for McNeese,” said Slade Nagle, a former Cowboy quarterback and player under Viator. “I could not be more happy for the school and for Coach V. This is a huge win for McNeese.”

Viator replaces Gary Goff, who was let go a week earlier after three seasons and a 10-23 record. 

“What a historic day it is,” said McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer. “Today is a defining moment for our football program, our school, and our community. 

“McNeese football is back. The giant is now awake.”

Viator’s teams made the postseason five times during his first run but never won a playoff game. Since he left for Louisiana-Monroe and then Louisiana-Lafayette, the Cowboys haven’t made the FCS playoffs and have suffered through four seasons without a winning record.

They finished this year at 6-6.

Schroyer aimed to restore McNeese football to its past glory after almost a decade of struggles. He also wanted to bring in somebody who understood McNeese’s history, the school, and the area.

“I finally thought, if we want to get back to our standards, why not go out and get the guy who set the standards,” Schroyer said.

So he turned his recruiting efforts toward Viator, who agreed to a five-year deal Monday. But Viator doesn’t want people to think he’s just going to relive the past.

“It doesn’t matter what we did here before, I want to move forward,” said Viator. “You just can’t come back. It’s the same location but a different place. I would have to be an absolute idiot if I thought I could come back here and do the same things. We have to make a new way, start a new standard, and set a new bar.”

Viator was the head coach at Monroe for five seasons before being fired and moving to the ULL staff. During that time, he was asked about returning to head coaching and said he wasn’t sure. 

That changed recently.

“It is a good time, the right time for me,” Viator said. “This program has always been personal to me.”

Viator said his first goal was to put together his staff. He has already met with those who remained to discuss his hopes and expectations and has offered some their jobs. 

“I think there we have a dynamic staff,” Viator said. “I’m also going to go out and get the best people I can.”

As for players, he also met with the team, with those already in the transfer portal all in attendance. He hopes to keep as many of those players as he can.

“Retaining players is important,” Viator said. “I have spoken to the guys who are already in the portal and we will continue to work with them. All those players are McNeese players.”

The 61-year-old Viator has hit the ground running, hoping to bring back the winning sooner rather than later.

“I’m going to go as fast as I can without hurrying,” he said.

Cowboy fans can’t wait.