Cris Edward Dishman (born August 13, 1965) is an American football coach and former player who is the 18th head football coach for Texas Southern University, a position he has held since 2024. He played professionally as a cornerback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Dishman played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was selected in the fifth round of the 1988 NFL draft. He played in the NFL for the Houston Oilers, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, and Washington Redskins from 1988 to 2000.
Early career Dishman attended St. Francis DeSales High School where he was two time Kentucky All-State in 1981 and 1982. Dishman played college football at Purdue University, where he was named to the All-Big Ten team in 1987. He also ran track for the Boilermakers, running the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash. He graduated in 1988 with a degree in criminal justice.
Professional career
Houston Oilers 1988 season The Houston Oilers selected Dishman in the fifth round (125th overall) of the 1988 NFL draft. He was the 15th cornerback drafted in 1988. On July 16, 1988, the Oilers signed Dishman to a four–year rookie contract that would keep him under contract with the Oilers throughout the 1991 NFL season.
Throughout training camp, he competed against Richard Johnson to possibly be the No. 2 starting cornerback due to a contract holdout by Patrick Allen. Head coach Jerry Glanville named Dishman a backup and listed him as the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind Steve Brown and Richard Johnson.
On September 4, 1988, Dishman made his professional regular season debut in the Houston Oilers’ season-opener at the Indianapolis Colts and recorded four solo tackles as they won in overtime 17–14. In Week 2, Dishman earned his first career start in place of Steve Brown who was inactive due to a hamstring injury and set a season-high with three pass deflections as the Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Raiders 38–35. He finished his rookie season in 1988 with 20 combined tackles (16 solo), five pass deflections, and a forced fumble in 15 games and two starts.
1989 season He returned to training camp slated as a backup cornerback and special teams player. Head coach Jerry Glanville named Dishman a backup and listed him as the third cornerback on the depth chart to start the season, behind starting duo Patrick Allen and Steve Brown.
On October 15, 1989, Dishman made two solo tackles, a pass deflection, and made his first career interception off a pass thrown by Mike Tomczak to wide receiver Glen Kozlowski during a 33–28 victory at the Chicago Bears. In Week 4, he recorded two combined tackles (one solo) and set a season-high with four pass deflections as the Oilers routed the Miami Dolphins 39–7. In Week 13, he made one solo tackle, two pass deflections, and sealed a 23–16 victory at the Pittsburgh Steelers by intercepting a last second Hail Mary thrown by Bubby Brister to end the game. On December 10, 1989, Dishman set a season-high with four pass deflections, made one pass break-up, and picked off Vinny Testaverde's pass attempt to wide receiver Willie Drewrey as the Oilers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17–20. He finished the 1989 NFL season with a total of 26 combined tackles (20 solo), 20 pass deflections, four interceptions, one forced fumble, and made a fumble recovery in 16 games without any starts. Although Pro Football Reference doesn't provide game logs for the 1989 NFL season they recorded Dishman made 37 total tackles.
1990 season On January 7, 1990, Oilers’ head coach Jerry Glanville announced his resignation following a 9–7 record in 1989 and a first-round exit in the playoffs. On January 10, 1990, the Houston Oilers announced their decision to hire Jack Pardee to be their new head coach. Throughout training camp, Dishman was impressive in the absence of starters Steve Brown and Patrick Allen. Steve Brown would miss the majority of training camp due to an injury while Patrick Allen was in the midst of a holdout due to a contract dispute. Head coach Jack Pardee named Dishman and Richard Johnson the starting cornerbacks to begin the season.
On October 14, 1990, Dishman set a season-high with six combined tackles (five solo), made two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass Boomer Esiason threw to Kendal Smith as the Oilers routed the Cincinnati Bengals 17–48. In Week 13, he recorded three solo tackles, tied his season-high with three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass attempt Dave Krieg threw to wide receiver Jeff Chadwick during a 10–13 loss at the Seattle Seahawks. He started in all 16 games throughout the 1990 NFL season for the first time in his career and finished with 51 combined tackles (48 solo), 25 pass deflections, four interceptions, and a forced fumble. Pro Football Reference recorded 62 total tackles for Dishman in 1990.
1991 season The Houston Oilers selected cornerbacks Darryll Lewis in the second round (58th overall) and Steve Jackson in the third round (71st overall) of the 1991 NFL draft following the departures of Patrick Allen and Steve Brown. Defensive coordinator Jim Eddy retained Dishman and Richard Johnson as the starting cornerbacks to begin the season. Along with safeties Bubba McDowell and Michael Dumas, the Oilers secondary became known as “the Young Guns”.
On September 16, 1991, Dishman made four combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, and secured a 7–17 win against the Kansas City Chiefs by intercepting a pass Steve DeBerg threw to wide receiver Fred Jones in the fourth quarter. The following week, he set a season-high with ten combined tackles (six solo), made three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass Hugh Millen threw to wide receiver Irving Fryar during a 20–24 loss at the New England Patriots in Week 4. In Week 6, Dishman made eight combined tackles (six solo), two pass deflections, an interception, and returned a fumble by wide receiver Steve Sidwell for a 19–yard touchdown as the Oilers defeated the Denver Broncos 42–14. On October 20, 1991, Dishman made a pass deflection and secured a 17–13 win at the Miami Dolphins by recovering a fumble that linebacker Lamar Lathon caused by running back Sammie Smith with 3:21 remaining in the fourth quarter. In Week 11, he recorded five solo tackles and set a season-high with four pass deflections during a 26–23 overtime victory against the Dallas Cowboys. On November 17, 1991, he recorded two solo tackles, one pass deflection, and set a career-high with his sixth interception of the season on a pass by Bernie Kosar to running back Kevin Mack during a 24–28 victory against the Cleveland Browns. He was inactive as the Oilers lost 14–26 at the Pittsburgh Steelers due to a hamstring injury. He finished the 1991 NFL season with a total of 66 combined tackles (53 solo), 22 pass deflections, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one touchdown in 15 games and 15 starts. He set a career-high with six interceptions throughout the season. His performance earned him a selection to the 1992 Pro Bowl, marking the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.
1992 season Dishman had fully completed his four–year rookie contract, but was unable to negotiate with any teams as the Oilers still held his player rights without the existence of free agency prior to 1993. He was unable to come to terms on a contract and subsequently was a training camp holdout along with seven other teammates, including Pro Bowlers Warren Moon, Mike Munchak, William Fuller, Sean Jones, and Curtis Duncan. On September 2, 1992, the Atlanta Falcons proposed a trade for Dishman and a high round draft selection to the Houston Oilers in return for wide receiver Andre Rison. Head coach Jack Pardee named Richard Johnson and Jerry Gray the starting cornerbacks to begin the season with Dishman continuing to holdout due to his contract throughout Week 1.
On September 10, 1992, the Houston Oilers re-signed Dishman to a two–year, $1.55 million contract that would keep him under contract with the team throughout the 1994 NFL season. On September 13, 1992, the Oilers waived starting cornerback Richard Johnson. Entering Week 2, head coach Jack Pardee named Dishman the No. 1 starting cornerback and paired him with Jerry Gray. In Week 6, he recorded two solo tackles and set a season-high with four pass deflections during a 26–10 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. On December 27, 1992, Dishman set a season-high with six combined tackles (four solo), and intercepted a pass Frank Reich threw to wide receiver James Lofton as the Oilers defeated the Buffalo Bills 3–27. He finished the season with a total of 39 combined tackles (32 solo), 19 pass deflections, three interceptions, and a forced fumble in 15 games and 15 starts.
1993 season On January 5, 1993, the Houston Oilers fired defensive coordinator Jim Eddy after finishing the 1992 NFL season with a 10–6 record and losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Buffalo Bills who overcame a 35–3 deficit known as ”The Comeback”. On January 30, 1993, the Houston Oilers hired former Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach Buddy Ryan to be their new defensive coordinator. Head coach Jack Pardee named Dishman as the No. 1 starting cornerback to begin the season and paired him with Darryll Lewis.
On September 12, 1993, Dishman recorded five solo tackles, made two pass deflections, and forced a fumble by tight end Mike Dyal, recovered, and returned it 58–yards for a touchdown during a 0–30 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs. In Week 4, No. 2 starting cornerback Darryll Lewis suffered a season-ending knee injury and was replaced by Steven Jackson for the rest of the season. On December 12, 1993, Dishman recorded three tackles, made three pass deflections, and led the Oilers to a 17–19 comeback victory against the Cleveland Browns by intercepting a pass Vinny Testaverde threw to wide receiver Mark Carrier later in the fourth quarter. In Week 16, he recorded three solo tackles and set a season-high with four pass deflections during a 26–17 victory at the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 18, Dishman set a season-high with nine solo tackles and made one pass deflection as the Oilers defeated the New York Jets 24–0 to win their 11th game in-a-row. He started in all 16 games throughout the season and finished with 74 combined tackles (64 solo), 29 pass deflections, six interceptions, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one touchdown. He set career-highs in pass deflections and forced fumbles and tied his career-high of six interceptions.
The Houston Oilers finished the 1993 NFL season first in the AFC Central with a 12–4 record and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. On January 16, 1994, Dishman made seven combined tackles (four solo) and two pass deflections as they lost 28–20 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round.
1994 season On February 9, 1994, the Houston Oilers hired Jeff Fisher to be their new defensive coordinator following the departure of Buddy Ryan who accepted a head coaching position with the Arizona Cardinals. On March 10, 1994, the Oilers re-signed Dishman to a two–year, $3.90 million contract that included an initial signing bonus of $1 million. Head coach Jack Pardee retained Dishman as a starting cornerback to begin the season and paired him with the returning Darryll Lewis.