Appalachian State fires Shawn Clark

Appalachian State has fired Shawn Clark after five seasons.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel tweeted out the reported news first regarding Clark on Monday. Now, App State has since announced the firing themselves in a press release from the program and AD Doug Gillin.

App State Announces Football Leadership Change

➡️ https://t.co/1K91ET3zn1 pic.twitter.com/UTHCtnMAbV

— App State Football (@AppState_FB) December 2, 2024

“I want to thank Shawn for all he has done for the App State football program,” said Gillin. “Shawn is a true Mountaineer. He has given his heart and soul to his alma mater. He has navigated numerous challenges in his tenure and done so with class and integrity. This was a difficult decision, but after an evaluation of the program, we decided to make the change now.”

“The expectation for App State Football is to annually compete for a conference championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff. We have commenced a national search to quickly find the next leader for App State Football. Mountaineer fans are among the most passionate in the country, and we are committed to providing a football program that builds upon the decades of previous championship tradition.”

Clark’s contract was set to run through 2026. However, the Mountaineers have ended his tenure two seasons earlier than expected with this decision today.

Clark was 39-24 (.619) overall through his five full years leading the Mountaineers. That includes finishes at .500 or better, three of which were winning seasons with nine victories or more, in each of his first four years in Boone.

However, this fall was his first losing record there, albeit being by just one game at 5-6 overall in 2024. That’s also with their game against Liberty being canceled back in September due to the effects of Hurricane Helene.

In his five seasons, Appalachian State went to three bowl games with two wins in 2020 and 2023. He led them to a bowl win to end 2019 too. They also made the Sun Belt Championship in 2021.

Clark has been with App State since 2016. He was an assistant there to begin with as a co-offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and eventually as the assistant head coach before replacing Eli Drinkwitz. He also had coaching stops as a grad assistant and offensive line coach at Louisville, Eastern Kentucky, Purdue, and Kent State.

This is also difficult with Clark having been a former player for the Mountaineers. He got to coach his alma mater after five years on their offensive line from 1994 to 1998. In that time, Clark was an All-American and All-Conference selection in the SoCon when they were in the FCS.

Now, after letting go of Clark today, Appalachian State will be in search of a new head coach for 2025.