CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois head football coach
Kim Dameron has announced the hiring of Scott Parr as the Panthers new offensive coordinator. Parr joins the EIU staff after spending the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Texas.
A student of the "Air Raid" offensive system, Parr helped Navarro JC rank among the nation's top junior college offensive units in each of the last three seasons. In 2017 the team finished eighth in the nation in total offense, ninth in passing offense and 16th in scoring offense. During his first season at Navarro, Parr's offense was second in the NJCAA ranks in total offense at 564.2 yards per game while ranking fourth in total offense and fifth in scoring offense at 45.8 points per game. During the 2016 season the team was third nationally in both total offense and passing offense while scoring 43.5 points per game to rank seventh in the nation.
Prior to his time at Navarro JC, Parr worked as an offensive quality control coach for Tommy Tuberville at Texas Tech from 2010-12. Working under offensive coordinator Neal Brown (now the head coach at Troy), the Red Raiders made bowl appearances in 2010 and 2012 as they ranked in the top 15 in total offense each of the three seasons. The 2012 Red Raiders team finished the year ranked second in the nation in passing offense at 355.9 yards per game. Texas Tech finished that season at 8-5 with a win over Minnesota in the Texas Bowl.
Parr came to Texas Tech as a highly successful offensive coordinator at NCAA Division II West Texas A&M. During four seasons on the staff from 2006-09, the last three as offensive coordinator, Parr helped the offense break 64 school and Lone Star Conference records. The team ranked in the top 15 nationally in total offense in all three seasons. During the 2008 season the West Texas A&M offense finished second in the nation in total offense at 544.7 yards per game, second in scoring offense at 48.6 points per game and first in passing offense at 427.6 yards per contest. Keith Null was the quarterback on that 2008 season as he would go on to be a sixth round NFL draft choice by the St. Louis Rams. Three total players from Parr's tenure at West Texas A&M would make an NFL roster with another making a roster in the Canadian Football League.
Parr began his coaching career as a student-assistant in 1997 at his alma mater Hardin Simmons University. He served as the running backs coach at Sam Houston State in 1998-99 before moving on for three seasons (2000-02) as the wide receivers coach at Abilene Christian. He was a graduate assistant coach with the tight ends and special teams at Baylor from 2003-04 and then worked as the receivers coach at Tarleton State in 2005.
He earned his bachelor's degree in 1998 from Hardin Simmons and has a pair of master's degrees from Sam Houston State (2000) and Baylor (2005). Parr has strong family coaching ties as his father Steve was a head coach at Plainview HS and Amarillo Palo Duro. His broth Seth coaches at Lubbock Coronado HS. He and his wife Kyla have three children.
