Scott Abell named football head coach
Rice football has hired Scott Abell as the program’s 20th head coach, according to an announcement from director of athletics Tommy McClelland, who led a national search to fill the position.
Abell joins Rice after seven seasons at Davidson College, a Division I Football Championship Subdivision school in North Carolina. He became the winningest coach in Davidson’s history, going 47-28 overall and 35-18 in the Pioneer Football League. He won two PFL Coach of the Year awards, captured two PFL championship titles and led the Wildcats to three FCS playoff appearances.
During Abell’s introductory press conference, McClelland said that he spoke with over 30 candidates possessing both NFL and NCAA coaching experience before narrowing down the pool to nearly one dozen. He met with Abell for roughly four hours Nov. 24 and found that the 54-year-old possessed all the qualities he sought in Rice’s next head coach.
“During our time with Coach Abell, it became evident to me that he was not only the right coach, but he was the right person to lead our program,” McClelland said.
Prior to Abell’s arrival at Davidson in 2018, the Wildcats had six consecutive seasons with two or fewer victories and went winless in conference play in four of the previous five years. He immediately brought a winning culture back to the program, going 6-5 in 2018 and delivering a winning record in each of his seven seasons as Davidson’s head coach.
"[Abell] has had an immediate impact on every program he has coached and is passionate about developing winners on and off the field,” McClelland said.
Abell’s Wildcats ranked first in rushing offense among all FCS teams during six of his seven years. This season, they rank second, averaging 58.2 carries, 315.5 rushing yards and 3.4 rushing touchdowns per game.
“In just seven years, Scott transformed the [Davidson] football program, doing so with the highest standards of excellence both on and off the field,” Davidson director of athletics Chris Clunie said in a statement.
Abell will fill the vacancy left by Mike Bloomgren, who was fired Oct. 27 during his seventh season as the team’s head coach. Bloomgren had never led the program to a winning record. His best finish came in 2023 when Rice went 6-6 and lost their bowl game to Texas State University.
After Bloomgren’s firing, the Owls went 2-2 under the leadership of interim head coach Pete Alamar. Rice finished 4-8 overall (3-5 in AAC), missing a bowl game for the first time since 2022.
Hiring Abell is Rice’s second major coaching shakeup since McClelland took over the athletic department in 2023. Last March, he fired men’s basketball head coach Scott Pera and replaced him with Rob Lanier, whom Southern Methodist University had recently dismissed.
Abell will be tasked with getting the Owls back to their first winning season since 2013, along with leading a national player recruitment process and ensuring his roster maintains Rice’s high academic standards. He said that his staff will place a heavy emphasis on recruiting high school talent within the state.
“As we begin to build for the future of Rice football, there will be no more important mark than the great state of Texas and its high school football programs,” Abell said. “Texas has the very best when it comes to high school football, its staffs and its development of scholar-athletes.”
Abell said that he spent extensive time recruiting Texas football players when he was the head coach at Washington and Lee University and Davidson, so he has familiarity with the state.
Abell flew home to spend time with his family for Thanksgiving, then returned to Houston to watch Rice defeat the University of South Florida Saturday. He assumed his post as head coach Monday, already preparing for the 2025 season.
"I am incredibly honored and humbled to be named the next head football coach at Rice University," Abell said. "I cannot imagine a more ideal time or fit for myself, my family and the future of Rice football. Today begins the journey, as we pursue championships.”
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