Temple formally introduced K.C. Keeler as its new head football coach Tuesday morning.
As the university has made standard practice in its previous introductions, Keeler spoke at the Liacouras Center’s Fox Gittis room. The former Sam Houston State head coach was preceded by new Temple president John Fry and athletic director Arthur Johnson.
Like his predecessors, Keeler delivered his opening remarks and took a handful of questions from reporters in the company of fans, donors and some current and former players before he answered more questions in breakout sessions with the media.
But unlike his predecessors, Keeler is taking on the Temple job after the Owls have stumbled through four consecutive 3-9 seasons and as some doubt had been cast upon the future of the program. He later told reporters that he would not have taken the job if the university’s commitment wasn’t in place and that he “wouldn't have come here unless I thought that we could go win championships.”
And unlike some of his predecessors, Keeler arrives at the job on North Broad Street with a resume that will likely land him in the College Football Hall of Fame at some point. He’s the only coach to have won a national championship at the FCS level with two programs (at Delaware in 2003 and at Sam Houston State in 2020), and he has tallied 271 career wins as the second-winningest active college football coach.
Keeler was 97-39 in his 11 seasons at Sam Houston State, with a bit of a rebuild to do when the program made the jump from the FCS level into Conference USA, where he led the Bearkats to a 9-3 record in just their second season at the FBS level.
So in that sense, he endured a brief rebuild as Sam Houston State jumped up a level.
At Temple, in meeting with his players for the first time, his message was that of having immediate success.
“Don’t think we’re gonna rebuild here,” he said he told them. “We’re gonna get this done now.”
Listen to Tuesday's introductory remarks from John Fry, Arthur Johnson and K.C. Keeler here, and stay tuned to OwlScoop.com throughout the day, as subscribers will have access to Tuesday's breakout sessions with Johnson and Keeler, along with insight into Keeler's Temple staff.
John Fry and Arthur Johnson introductory remarks