Brian Bohannon greets Kennesaw State team before game days after being fired

Former Kennesaw State head coach Brian Bohannon is sticking by his former players, despite being fired earlier this week. As Owls players arrived for Saturday’s game against Sam Houston, Bohannon greeted every player with a handshake and a hug.

You can check out the video of Brian Bohannon greeting his former players below:

Dude…Brian Bohannon is still here pumping up everyone of his players despite undeservingly losing his job.

This is sick and awesome to see. pic.twitter.com/t1KGO5cs2u

— Joey Stone I Sloppy Joe (@JoeyStone_8) November 16, 2024

Brian Bohannon was fired earlier this week after a 1-8 start to the season. Kennesaw State jumped up to the FBS level this year and is struggling with the step up in competition.

That led to Bohannon being fired in his 12th season leading the Owls program. Bohannon led Kennesaw State to four FCS playoff appearances and was the 2017 FCS Coach of the Year.

A former Georgia wide receiver who made assistant coaching stops throughout the FCS level at the beginning of his career, Bohannon was most recently an assistant at Navy and Georgia Tech before taking the Kennesaw State job.

Bohannon is expected to be owed a $605,333 buyout. The head coach was critical to Kennesaw State’s success from its start in football. The Owls won 48 games over their first five seasons. It is also the first start-up program in college football history to post three consecutive 11-win seasons during its first five years of competition.

Bohannon is working with a different administration than when he was first brought in. Kennesaw State president Kathy S. Schwaig started in 2022 and Milton Overton was named athletic director in 2017. The lone win for the Owls this season was a stunning 27-24 upset of Liberty in October.

A four-time finalist for the Eddie Robinson award as the nation’s top FCS head coach, Bohannon is tied for first in Big South Conference history with 63 victories and he became the fastest coach to win 45 games when he reached the benchmark with a 38-35 win over Campbell on Nov. 9, 2019.

Kennesaw State also has games remaining against FIU and Louisiana Tech.

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report