Texas Southern first-year football coach Cris Dishman is quick to let you know he is a now person.
He wants to win now. But those wins have been slow to come in this first season with the Tigers sitting at 2-4 overall and 1-2 in SWAC play. It’s a reality the first-time head coach is struggling to reconcile as he looks to win now while also building for the future.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is there is no tomorrow in coaching. It’s always the now,” Dishman said to the Defender this week. “Some people work in tomorrow but we work in the now.
“So I’ve learned to have a little bit more patience and try to do it tomorrow, but tomorrow can get you fired. That’s why I try to work in the now.”
We are going to go out these next five weeks and put our best effort forward and hopefully the outcome comes.
Cris Dishman, TSU head Coach
So far, it’s been a mixed bag of a season. The Tigers started out with a thrilling win over rival Prairie View to break a long losing streak in the series. Since then, it’s been primarily a combination of disappointing blowouts and near misses with their only other win coming against Division III Virginia Lynchburg for Homecoming.
Heading into last week’s bye week, the Tigers came up just short in overtime at home to SWAC West-leading Southern, 22-19. TSU, which is among four one-win division teams, returns to action at Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday against Grambling State.
Dishman hopes it’s the beginning of a turnaround to salvage the season.
“We are going to go out these next five weeks and put our best effort forward and hopefully the outcome comes,” he said.
In doing so, the Tigers will have to overcome a not-so-home feeling at Shell Energy Stadium – the home they share with Houston’s two professional soccer teams — where they are 0-2 this season. They were blown out 43-14 by Jackson State in September and narrowly lost on a field goal in overtime to the Jaguars.
TSU’s only home win came in their lone campus home game of the season at Durley Stadium against Virginia Lynchburg.
“To do things different, we’ve got to win at home,” Dishman said. “At our stadium downtown, we have not won a game there. So we have to be able to win at home, first and foremost.”
Grambling State coach Mickey Joseph, however, views TSU as a tough opponent no matter where they play.
“First all, they are well coached, they play hard, they run to the football and they have some really good players,” said Joseph, whose team is coming off an impressive victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff for its first conference win of the season. “They are really a dangerous football team when they are in Houston.
“They get off blocks well on the defensive line and they have a really athletic quarterback. We will continue to watch them, but what we see is a well-coached football team and a scrappy football team that’s going to get after you.”
A big thing for the Tigers is overcoming injuries. Since starter KJ Cooper was injured during the season opener at Prairie View, there has been a revolving door at quarterback between last year’s starter Jace Wilson and Jordon Davis.
Dishman indicated this week that Cooper may be ready to return to the lineup, but he didn’t say for sure.
“Of course, our quarterback isn’t as healthy as I want him to be, but we have other people there. Other people have to step up,” Dishman said. “We can’t rely on one or two people and think we are going to win a championship.
“Everyone who is behind that person is going to have to step up. In order for us to win and keep in the hunt with Southern, we’ve got to win out.”
