Temple set to hire Sam Houston's K.C. Keeler as new head coach

Temple is set to hire a new football coach following its ouster of Stan Drayton, tapping Sam Houston‘s K.C. Keeler, according to a report from On3’s Pete Nakos.

K.C. Keeler is a former Delaware coach who has won two FCS national titles. Temple confirmed the hire on Sunday evening.

“Coach Keeler has a track record of evaluating, recruiting, and developing student-athletes into championship-level young men,” athletics director Arthur Johnson said in a press release. “His leadership, experience, and the culture he establishes within programs are exactly what Temple football needs as we look to return to prominence in the competitive college football landscape. We are ecstatic to welcome K.C., his wife, Janice, and his entire family to Temple.”

At Sam Houston, Keeler has compiled a 97-39 overall record and a 62-19 mark in conference play over the course of 11 seasons. He was previously 86-52 in 11 seasons at Delaware, including a 49-41 mark in conference play.

K.C. Keeler began his college head coaching career at Division III Rowan in 1993. He was there until 2001, enjoying quite a bit of success, appearing in five Division III championship games.

From there, Keeler went to Delaware in 2002, where he was the coach until 2012. He resurfaced in 2014 at Sam Houston, where he helped the Bearkats go through numerous conference changes.

Florida State taps Gus Malzahn as new offensive play-caller

K.C. Keeler wasn’t the only coach to see some movement over the weekend, as former UCF coach Gus Malzahn also reportedly agreed to take a new job.

Malzahn is expected to be named Florida State’s next offensive play-caller after resigning from UCF.

Malzahn took over at UCF in 2021 and found quick success. The Knights finished with nine wins in each of his first two seasons before making the leap to the Big 12, and they went 6-7 a year ago. However, UCF struggled this year with a 4-8 record, leading to questions about Malzahn’s future in Orlando.

Now, he’s reuniting with Norvell. The two worked together at Tulsa, and Malzahn said he “discovered” both him through their connection with Springdale High School in Arkansas. Norvell was a graduate assistant and later worked his way up the coaching ranks and is now at Florida State, which made a slew of staff changes amid a two-win campaign.

As the coaching carousel continues to turn, news of moves like Gus Malzahn’s and K.C. Keeler’s will continue to trickle out.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.