Now Keeler, who brings a career mark of 271-112-1 to North Broad, will become Temple’s 18th football coach after going 97-39 in 10 seasons at Sam Houston State. He will lead an Owls program that has finished 3-9 in each of the last four seasons, and will succeed Stan Drayton, who was fired Nov. 17. Temple’s last winning season came in 2019.

K.C. Keeler engineered an impressive turnaround at Sam Houston State in 2024, flipping a 3-9 2023 campaign to 9-3 in the Bearkats' second season in FBS play. Sam Houston State is now the victim of its own success as Keeler is set to leave Huntsville for a new gig.

Temple has hired Sam Houston coach K.C. Keeler to fill its open position, the school announced on Sunday. Keeler, 65, is a two-time national championship-winning coach at the FCS level and the only coach in FCS history to win a national title at two different stops,