Matt Viator is going nowhere.

For those McNeese State fans who want that not to be the case, it is time to get over it.

Unless he chooses to move on, Viator will be back as the Cowboys head coach next season.

When asked if there was any talk about replacing him, which Internet junkies have had a field day discussing of late, McNeese Athletic Director Bruce Hemphill could not have been more direct with his answer.

“Absolutely not,” Hemphill stated. “Not even a consideration. Matt Viator is the right man for the McNeese State football job.”

Enough said on that subject.

Now, vote of confidence aside, there are issues to be addressed.

It is said you are what your record says you are.

If true, then the McNeese football program is stuck in neutral.

Doesn’t matter how the Cowboys got there, that’s where they stand today.

Lamar kicked them back to the middle of the Southland Conference pack late Saturday afternoon with a last-second field goal.

The 27-24 loss to a rival, which is just a few years into its football rebirth, tells a lot about a season and a program.

Yes, there were injuries. Yes, there were a few key calls that went against them. And, yes, the ball rarely bounced the Cowboys’ way during a three-game losing streak down the stretch.

Those are explanations, symptoms, but now we need cures.

Maybe we need to look at the facts first. McNeese finished 6-5 after starting the season with talks of a national championship.

Looking back those words were more than a little optimistic, as we all got caught up in the heartbreaking loss to Nebraska in the season opener.

It is time to take a hard look at the reality.

The 6-5 finish marked the third time in five years McNeese has ended with that record. They never beat a team with a winning record this season and haven’t won a playoff game in a dozen years.

And here is a sobering fact: the Cowboys finished closer in the standings to Incarnate Word (two games up) than Southeastern Louisiana and Sam Houston State (three games back). When this team left Lincoln, Neb., in September nobody would have ever even considered that a possibility.

That doesn’t mean the Southland has passed McNeese by, but rather leapfrogged the Cowboys by using a bevy of top-division transfers for short-term rewards.

Southeastern and Sam Houston, winners of the last four league championships after sharing this year’s title, have rosters littered with such players.

Don’t look for McNeese to follow that blueprint.

“I am very, very happy with the direction of our program and our recruiting,” said Hemphill, who added McNeese is in it for the long haul.

So no change in that philosophy to keep up with the Joneses, or Bearkats and Lions if you prefer.

“We have a great relationship with high school coaches and will continue to look at transfers that fit our program,” Hemphill said.

McNeese seems a little caught in wanting to do what is right as a university and what wins on the football field. In today’s world it is hard to do both.

It’s hard to win big when you are playing by different standards as some of the other guys.

As for those folks who want to bring back the so-called glory days, remember McNeese has never won a national championship, losing twice in the title game.

More often the program has produced solid teams with good records, but this is not Alabama of the Football Championship Subdivision world.

It is one thing to reminisce about the good ol’ days, but it is another to try and rewrite history.

Good football is in McNeese’s DNA, great football is not.

So that is our reference point.

We must also consider the bigger picture of college football, which has changed greatly over the last few years. Winning has become far more important than ever before.

So while there will be no major change at the top, or with the selection of players, some tinkering is called for.

Injuries have hit McNeese hard over the past few seasons, so the staff must look at that once again.

Also, next year a lot of players return and expectations are again high. That is both good and bad.

It means McNeese knows what it has but we won’t know what the others guys are bringing back in this new way of doing business in the Southland.

Of those returning, three are quarterbacks. The idea of having two or three, like Viator seems to enjoy, may need some tinkering.

It’s great to have what you hope is that much talent, but what this club could really use is one of those three to step up, take over and be a leader.

Three quarterbacks are not always better than one.

One thing about Viator, he is loyal. He’s loyal to his players, to his assistants and to his university and program. That’s a good thing.

But can he find a way to stay loyal to all those things and find a way to join what now appears to be an arms race for talent in the Southland?

This team is a season removed from 10 wins and a playoff berth, which needs to be remembered.

But we also can’t forget how quickly others have moved to the head of the class.

You are what your record says you are, and McNeese’s record clearly states it is in the middle of the field.

That’s not where the Cowboys are expected, or happy to be located.

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Jim Gazzolo is managing sports editor. Email him at jgazzolo@americanpress.com(Rick Hickman/American Press)