BEAUMONT — Mike Schultz described being named head football coach at Lamar University in a way befitting of the holiday season.

“I woke up one morning and Lamar University was right under the Christmas tree,” he said.

Just days ahead of Christmas, Schultz received a really nice present. Lamar unveiled the soon-to-be 59-year-old as its second head coach since football was relaunched at the university in 2010.

“I’ve been very selective over where I applied,” Schultz said. “When it comes to applying for a job, you always want to examine how it’s going to affect them first. Secondly, what made Lamar attractive, I think it’s a good academic school. They’ve got one of the better engineering schools in the country.

“The reason I bring that up is we’ll be as good as our players, so we’ve got to do a good job of recruiting. The first thing I looked at is, we’ve got something to recruit, too. We have good academics here, so that was No. 1. “

Schultz replaces Ray Woodard, who was fired Nov. 21, two days after finishing a 3-8 season. Lamar went 34-46 under Woodard.

Lamar athletic director Jason Henderson said Schultz was the only finalist for the job.

“We kept looking at people all the way until the end,” said Henderson, who did not name any other candidates. “There was never any finalist list. We looked at everybody as they came in.”

Henderson said last week he wanted to name a head coach by the Christmas break, but said Thursday he never established a cutoff point before the announcement in reviewing candidates.

“It was one of those things where it takes a lot of time and a lot of input and a lot of people, but it’s one of those things where it’s real rewarding. It gives a chance for our student-athletes to have a great experience.”

Schultz spent much of the past season as a volunteer offensive analyst at Texas A&M. Prior to that, he was offensive coordinator at Texas State under the now-retired Dennis Franchione, whom he also worked under at TCU in the same capacity.

Schultz mentored two of the biggest offensive names in TCU history, Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist LaDainian Tomlinson and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. He worked with the Horned Frogs from 1998-2008, going through the transition from Franchione to Gary Patterson.

Schultz left TCU for the same position at Illinois and moved to Middle Tennessee for the 2010 season before reuniting with Franchione at Texas State. The two had worked together at the San Marcos university from 1990-91, when it was known as Southwest Texas State and competed in the Southland Conference, Lamar’s athletic league.

Franchione brought Schultz along when he was hired as New Mexico’s head coach in 1992. The pair led the Lobos to the Western Athletic Conference Mountain Division title five years later and coached them in the game now known as the Cactus Bowl in Phoenix.

Tomlinson led the nation in rushing in 1999 and 2000 with Schultz coaching the Horned Frogs running backs and secondary. His 406 yards against UTEP was a Football Bowl Subdivision (major-college subdivision) single-game record until 2014. Schultz was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2000, when Tomlinson recorded his only 2,000-yard season (2,158) in Fort Worth.

Dalton threw for 4,701 yards and 21 touchdowns with 16 interceptions as a redshirt freshman and sophomore during Schultz’s final two years at TCU. The 2008 TCU team finished 11-2 and beat previously unbeaten Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.

Henderson said Schultz’s Texas ties and his desire to run a fast-paced offense separated him from other candidates. Schultz and his wife Cindy are originally from Houston and have been married nearly 34 years.

“I think he’s the best fit for Lamar University and the Golden Triangle,” the AD said.

The Golden Triangle was Schultz’s No. 2 reason for pursuing the Lamar job.

“The athletes that have come from here — the history of this place — is unbelievable,” Schultz said. “NFL players that have come from this area, it’s off the charts.”

Schultz brings a Southland Conference background to Jefferson County. Following graduation from Sam Houston State in 1979, he served as the Bearkats’ quarterbacks and running backs coach for two years.

He’s also made stops at FBS places including Kansas State and Texas.

Henderson added he “can’t say enough” about Woodard’s ability to relaunch a football program. Woodard had one winning season in 2014 (8-4) but produced five All-Americans, most recently running back Kade Harrington and cornerback Brendan Langley.

“He did a great job starting a program and doing all those things,” Henderson said. “I think Mike is going to bring a lot of energy and we’re very excited about what the future holds.”

I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews