The Stan Drayton Era Comes to an End with 9 Wins and 25 Losses

Here’s the press release after Stan Drayton’s Sunday firing:

PHILADELPHIA – Temple University Vice President/Debbie and Stanley Lefkowitz ’65 Director of Athletics Arthur Johnson and head football coach Stan Drayton have announced that Drayton will no longer lead the Owl football program.

“I would like to extend my appreciation to Coach Drayton for his commitment to Temple University, our student-athletes and the football program over the past three years,” Johnson said. “Under his direction, our student-athletes have excelled in the classroom, been outstanding members of the community and Coach Drayton has represented the University with a tremendous amount of integrity and class. I wish him and his family well in their future endeavors.”

“With the changing landscape of college football and the playoff format, the opportunity for Temple football has never been greater. Our expectation is to compete for American Athletic Conference titles, appear in bowl games consistently, and build a program that our fans, alumni, and students can be proud of in the classroom and on the field. I am confident that our fans will rally around our student-athletes and support them as they always have.”

“I appreciate the opportunity that I was given to lead a great group of young men at Temple University,” Drayton said. “I wish them nothing but the best in football and in life.”

Defensive coordinator Everett Withers has been named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Drayton won nine games and lost 25. He was 3-7 this year after two 3-9 seasons in which the Owls weren’t particularly competitive. Temple is not some NIL power in 2024, and they were also on a gradual backslide after putting together five consecutive winning seasons from 2014 to 2019. That’s not to make excuses for Drayton, who put a pitiful football team out there, but ask yourself if prime Nick Saban could have coached this progrum to bowl eligibility in 2024. The answer is probably no.

Firing Drayton in November gives Temple extra time to really go through the process and find the right person for the job. Is that someone who knows the program? Is it the next up-and-comer who is going to be here for two seasons before taking a power 5 job? Matt Rhule ain’t walking through that door ever again, but maybe one of his assistants is, and you can absolutely find yourself another Geoff Collins or Al Golden. The Rod Carey thing was rushed because of the Manny Diaz screw job, and they didn’t hire him until January. Drayton, they thought, was a return to bringing in a coordinator or associate head coach from a big school, but the cupboard was mostly empty when he got here, a product of that transfer portal mass exodus that took place during Carey’s tenure. They never recovered from that. It hasn’t been THAT long since guys like Jahad Thomas and Ryquell Armstead played here, but at the same time it feels like it was a hundred years ago. Temple will never be a desirable destination considering that the team rents an NFL stadium, plays in a terrible conference as a geographic misfit, and has had one draft pick in the last four seasons. Other than that, it’s a great job!

Stan Drayton was a nice guy, but not the right fit for Temple.

Should Arthur Johnson be making this hire?

The next coach will either save or end Temple Football.

Would @CoachCollins return?

My out of the box name for the job is Terrance Knighton. Bring @Coach_Knighton home! pic.twitter.com/RdoxKGthyu

— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) November 17, 2024

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