Temple fires coach Drayton day after OT victory

Temple fired coach Stan Drayton on Sunday, ending his tenure with a 9-25 record in two-plus seasons.

The Owls beat Florida Atlantic in overtime Saturday, giving Drayton three wins in each of his seasons at the helm. Temple went 4-18 in AAC play under Drayton, who came to the school from Texas, where he had served as running backs coach and associate head coach.

Athletic director Arthur Johnson thanked Drayton for his time at the school, adding that the 53-year-old “represented the university with a tremendous amount of integrity and class.” Temple is headed for its fifth consecutive losing season after going 81-59 under five coaches from 2009 to 2019.

Drayton is the second consecutive coach Temple has fired, joining Rod Carey, after four consecutive Owls coaches — Al Golden, Steve Addazio, Matt Rhule and Geoff Collins — left for major conference jobs. USA Today reported that Drayton earned $1,888,979 in salary for 2024.

Defensive coordinator Everett Withers will serve as interim head coach for Temple’s final two games against UTSA and North Texas. Withers is a former head coach at Texas State, James Madison and North Carolina.