BEAUMONT — Mike Schultz needed something to do after he left the Texas State coaching staff in 2015.

“My wife was probably going to kick me out of the house, anyway,” he said Thursday during his introductory press conference as Lamar’s head coach. “She was getting tired of me being around. It was therapy for me. If I hadn’t done that, I would have been in trouble.”

Schultz made the most of his time away from the sideline. He said he visited more than 20 Football Bowl and Championship Subdivision teams to catch up on the latest trends in the sport.

“I’ve been at over 20 FBS and FCS programs,” Schultz said. “I flew to Utah. I flew to Virginia Tech. I went to Texas Tech. I went to UTEP, New Mexico, New Mexico State, North Texas, SMU, TCU … you want me to keep going? I spent time visiting with people, working with them and talking with them. I wanted to stay fresh with the new things in the game of football. That allowed me to do that.”

The biggest thing Schultz said he learned?

“You better recruit and you better get good players,” he said.

Schultz, who was hired Wednesday, is 40 days from National Signing Day but can’t recruit any players until after Jan. 3. Lamar graduated 19 seniors from the 2016 team and had not had a coach since Nov. 21.

“We’re a little bit behind, but I think if you put coaches in place who have strong Texas ties that have been in this state and understand this state, we’ll catch up and we’ll be OK,” he said.

Speaking of Texas ties, the close proximity to Houston attracted Schultz and his family to Lamar.

“I’m a teacher, and you can imagine that, preparing for all the Christmas parties and everything, I was occupied and he was very occupied with the job,” Schultz’s wife of nearly 34 years, Cindy, said. “We did have conversations about [the job search], and I’m so excited. Of course, we’re native Texans and to be right here down the road — we grew up in Houston — is thrilling.”

Mike Schultz’s immediate plan is to contact every returning Lamar player and assure them the hiring process is ongoing.

Much of his time this past season also has been spent volunteering as an offensive analyst for Texas A&M, a non-coaching position that involves reviewing film and analyzing it for coaches.

Dennis Franchione, whom Schultz assisted at Texas State and TCU, said in a statement the area will fall in love with the Cardinals’ new chief, whom he called “the ultimate family man.” Mike and Cindy Schultz have three daughters.

“He’s going to be out there with them, he’s going to take Lamar University football to them and not wait on them to come to him,” said Franchione, the former Texas A&M and Alabama coach who retired from Texas State after the 2015 season. “He’s going to be so involved in Beaumont and sell its football program.”

Selling the program will be key for a Lamar program that failed to draw 10,000 fans to a single game in the 16,000-seat Provost Umphrey Stadium this season. The team averaged 7,429 and drew only 5,566 to the home finale against Incarnate Word, which ended in a 35-28 Lamar defeat.

“If we extend ourselves as a football team, if we reach out and touch our community, I think the excitement that will be here Saturday afternoons will be off the charts,” Schultz said.

But first, Schultz and his family are now set for a merry Christmas together.

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