Temple interim head coach Everett Withers did not field a single question about the team's upcoming matchup against UTSA this Friday at Temple’s weekly Monday press conference.

Instead, the defensive coordinator spoke about the firing of former head coach Stan Drayton following Temple's 18-15 overtime win this weekend and what the program needs going forward.

“I’ve got a lot of gratitude to have had the opportunity to work with coach Drayton,” Withers said. “Always had a great thought of how he handled kids and players. I watched him handle the Ezekiel Elliott’s and that part of the world. I always thought he did a great job of growing kids, and that’s something that I have taken from him. He’s one of the best running back coaches that I’ve ever been around, so I don’t expect him to be unemployed very long.”

Just a week ago, following Temple's 52-6 loss to Tulane, Drayton talked about being outmatched when it came to the talent on the field. In particular, Drayton mentioned the need to find ways to invest in more talent through NIL.

Withers followed in Drayton’s footsteps and was extremely candid when it came to the needs that the program has, and what the next person will need to succeed at Temple.

“I think across the Group of Five world in athletics, there needs to be people sitting down at each of these universities and deciding how much you want to invest in winning,” Withers said. “Revenue sharing is coming. How much of that will keep you relevant? How much will you be able to put together in collectives and NIL spaces? What are you willing to do to be relevant and to win in today’s climate in college athletics? We know what the power four is doing. But are there enough Group of Five teams willing to do what needs to be done? Because there’s a lot that needs to be done."

“Players are getting paid today and that ain’t going away," Withers added. "We’ve let that toothpaste out of the tube, we can’t put it back. So how do we get with the times and make a decision structurally within our level of football on how to get this done so you remain relevant. So, I think every school, not just Temple, there’s a lot of schools that have to ask those questions.”

Withers also talked about what went wrong for Temple in its three years under Drayton, and he mentioned injuries, the lack of depth, and even the ball just not bouncing in their favor.

However, Withers also talked about the importance of a university having commitment across the entire campus not just within the facility.

“There has to be not only a commitment in a building, but across campus to win,” Withers said. “Every school that I have worked at that's been successful in football, has truly been successful in athletics because football took care of a lot of things. Football is going to help the whole university. It’s the front porch of most universities. You have to take care of football and basketball, so everybody else can be successful.”

Withers also mentioned that he doesn’t believe that Drayton knew of his dismissal prior to his press conference after the Owls’ win on Saturday.

Temple athletic director Arthur Johnson met with the team at 11 a.m. on Sunday to break the news to players. The team did not have a leadership council meeting following the news and instead had a full team meeting to talk about moving forward.

There are still two games left to play this season and, despite all of the questions about the future of the program, Withers said that the players have had a positive response.

He mentioned that the team is full of mature and well-rounded players and that they responded extremely well in practice on Monday, showing up to practice early, and called it “business as usual”.

Now that Withers has taken over the duties as head coach he mentioned that linebackers coach Chris Woods will be taking over his duties as defensive coordinator.

Withers was fired from being the head coach at Texas State back in 2018, and Woods, who was his defensive coordinator, was then promoted to interim head coach. Now, six years later, Withers is promoted to the interim head coach of Temple and Woods will take his place as acting defensive coordinator to finish out the season.

“He’s just a natural fit for us,” Wither said. “I want to be able to help both sides of the ball and special teams with managing the game. I’ve got six years of head coaching experience. I understand the head coach. I’m not going to be good at calling defenses and managing the game. I want to be able to help manage the offense, on when we need to go for it, when we don’t. When we need to punt it, when we don’t, those types of things. I’m going to be in charge of managing the game."

Aside from the players that are currently on the roster, there are also the players that Temple was recruiting. JUCO defensive back Dylan King, one of the recruits that Drayton landed, already announced that he is reopening his recruitment process in a social media post Sunday night.

Withers didn’t go into much detail about the approach that they will be taking towards them until Temple gets a new coach. When asked a question about having conversations with the recruits and communicating to them that there’s been a change and that the next staff will reach out, Withers replied “Sure.”

It’s no secret that players currently on the roster are thinking about their futures. Due to Drayton's dismissal, Temple's players can now enter the transfer portal sooner than they would have been able to if he had stayed. The human element of worrying about your future is something that is absolutely at play. Withers said he hasn’t had any conversations with his players about their future yet.

“The human element comes into play immediately,” Withers said. “I’m sure there are guys thinking about their futures. The landscape of college athletics to when you have a coach leave a program, you can immediately go and prepare yourself for the portal. Yeah, there’s guys thinking about that. I have not had those conversations with anybody, but I imagine our guys are thinking that way.”