Temple hires Sam Houston State head coach K.C. Keeler as Owls' new football coach

Updated Dec. 1, 2024 7:24 p.m. ET

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Temple hired Sam Houston State coach K.C. Keeler as its new football coach on Sunday in the Owls' latest attempt to turn back into a winning program.

Keeler replaced Stan Drayton, who was fired on Nov. 18 following three straight losing seasons, and interim coach Everett Withers. The Owls haven’t had a winning record since 2019 but had six straight seasons at .500 or better from 2014-19.

Keeler went 97-39 over his 11 years at Sam Houston State. The Bearkats advanced to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs six times and went 10-0 during the 2020 season to capture an FCS national title.

Keeler also led the Bearkats through their transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision as part of Conference USA, where they earned bowl eligibility this year with a 9-3 record and narrowly missed out on an appearance in the C-USA title game.

Keeler had his most successful stint as Delaware's head coach (2002-12), where he led the Blue Hens to three FCS national championship game appearances and the 2003 title. Keeler won the Eddie Robinson Award as the FCS Coach of the Year in 2016.

His teams have appeared in 17 NCAA postseason playoff appearances, 11 conference championships, and have played in nine national championship games across all levels.

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