Hoskins to remain Lincoln football head coach for 2020 season

Lincoln announced Thursday afternoon Malik Hoskins would remain the Blue Tigers' football head coach for the 2020 season. Hoskins had spent the past six months as Lincoln's interim head coach following Steven Smith's resignation.
Lincoln announced Thursday afternoon Malik Hoskins would remain the Blue Tigers' football head coach for the 2020 season. Hoskins had spent the past six months as Lincoln's interim head coach following Steven Smith's resignation.

Malik Hoskins can remove one word from his job title.

Lincoln announced Thursday afternoon Hoskins will be the Lincoln football head coach for the 2020 season, after spending the past six months as the interim head coach for the Blue Tigers.

"We conducted an extensive search that generated quite a bit of interest from some outstanding candidates," Lincoln athletic director John Moseley said in a press release. "In the end, it was Coach Hoskins' familiarity with the program, with the campus and the Jefferson City community that convinced us he was the right person to lead the Lincoln football team moving forward."

On May 15, Lincoln announced Steven Smith had stepped down as head coach after two seasons at Lincoln. Hoskins, who served as Smith's offensive coordinator, was elevated to interim head coach heading into the 2019 season.

Lincoln was picked to finish last in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The Blue Tigers posted a 1-10 record, beating Northeastern State to finish 11th in the conference after spending the past five seasons in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

"As we transitioned back into the MIAA, arguably the best Division II conference in the country, Hoskins developed a mindset among our players that encouraged them to work hard, both on the field and, more importantly, in the classroom," Moseley said. "Our players bought into Hoskins' vision for the program this season, and I look forward to seeing how the football team grows under his leadership."

Before arriving at Lincoln, Hoskins had served as an interim head coach at Lane in January 2014. Hoskins led Lane to a 1-8 record in 2014, but never had the interim tag removed, as Derrick Burroughs returned as head coach at Lane the following season.

This is the first time Hoskins has been a head coach without the interim tag.

"It feels really good to know that I've got the support of coach Moseley, the hiring committee, the president and the Blue Tiger Athletic Club," Hoskins said Thursday night in a phone interview. "I didn't really know how many people I had in my corner until this process started."

Even though the announcement of dropping the interim happened Thursday, Hoskins said he and his staff began its recruitment schedule Monday following the conclusion of the regular season.

"We were going to approach Monday as if we had the job," Hoskins said. "Some coaches left on Monday, some left on Tuesday, I just left yesterday. The plan was for us to get out and have a rigorous two or three weeks of recruiting."

According to Lincoln's media guide, Hoskins, the 24th head coach in Lincoln football history, is the first to have the interim tag removed. Thomas Howard and Lee Johnson served as interim head coaches in 2010 and 2016, respectively, but did not return the following seasons.