Former Western Kentucky defensive coordinator Lance Guidry was announced Saturday as the new defensive coordinator at McNeese State.

It will be the fourth stint for Guidry, a 1995 McNeese graduate, on the Cowboys’ staff. He served as a graduate assistant in 1994 and then returned as the school’s defensive coordinator from 2000-04. He coached defensive backs in 2008.

Guidry served as defensive coordinator at WKU in 2011-12 and was interim head coach for the Hilltoppers’ appearance in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on Dec. 26 after former WKU head coach Willie Taggart accepted the head coaching position at South Florida. But Taggart did not hire Guidry at South Florida, and new WKU coach Bobby Petrino did not retain Guidry.

Guidry’s 2012 Hilltopper defense ranked in the top 40 in seven national defensive categories. The Guidry-led defense ranked 23rd nationally in total defense (344.42) and 12th in the nation in tackles for loss per game (7.42).