Todd Hoffner, the Minnesota State University, Mankato, football coach whose career was upended by child pornography charges later dropped, is gettng another chance in Minot.

The Minot Daily News and other sources say Hoffner will be named Minot State's new coach Thursday and a university spokesman confirmed the hiring to the Associated Press. A press conference is expected Thursday afternoon.

"I'm elated for him," said Jim Fleming, Hoffner's attorney in Mankato. "Todd felt pessimistic and was really down, thinking that maybe he'd never coach again. I always felt he had talents and skills that epoeple would want."

Hoffner's union grievance against the school is still pending. Fleming recently filed expungement paperwork to have his court file sealed. His Bureau of Criminal Apprehension filed was destroyed after his case was dismissed.

"With all the adversity my family and I have faced," he said at a 45-minute press conference earlier this week, "we are looking to dust ourselves off, move forward. We need to move on and move forward with our lives and hopefully this is a great opportunity for us."

Although cleared of felony charges when a judge ruled videos on his cellphone showed only innocent play among his children, Hoffner was demoted to a job as an assistant athletic director and then fired. He's challenging his dismissal through a union grievance.

He will replace Minot State coach Paul Rudolph, who quit to become offensive coordinator at North Dakota.

Hoffner, 47, had coached in Mankato since 2008 when he was arrested after images of his children, ages 5 and 9, were recovered from his phone in 2012 showing them dancing and performing skits after a bath at the family's home.