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The Temple Owls look to finally have a football coach. How long he remains on the job is a discussion for another day.
Rod Carey, who spent six seasons as the head coach for the Northern Illinois Huskies, is the new man in charge in North Philadelphia after Geoff Collins left for Georgia Tech and Manny Diaz spurned the Owls for Miami just weeks after accepting the job.
OFFICIAL:
— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) January 11, 2019
Join us in welcoming Rod Carey as #TUFB’s new head coach!https://t.co/45eVtlnDJb pic.twitter.com/KYBCMTmSUR
A press conference to introduce Carey is scheduled for 4 p.m. today.
The 47-year old has been on the Huskies staff since 2011 and took over as head coach following the departure of Dave Doeren prior to the 2013 Orange Bowl. The two-time Mid-American Conference champion went 52-30 at NIU and the Huskies appeared in four MAC title games under his watch.
Carey reportedly received a contact extension from Northern Illinois in November that was expected to keep him in DeKalb through 2022. It remains to be seen how all parties will work out a buyout agreement.
If recent memory is any indication, Carey should use the Owls as a springboard into a more high-profile job. The last four head coaches in North Philadelphia - Al Golden, Steve Addazio, Matt Rhule and Geoff Collins - have all been poached by Power Five programs over the past decade.
Carey never won a bowl game while at Northern Illinois, and now joins a program that has been to four straight bowl games. Temple finished the season 8-5 overall and 7-1 in conference play, but was handled pretty easily by Duke in the Independence Bowl.
Interim head coach Ed Foley will remain with the new coaching staff, as well as Fran Brown. Temple officials reportedly made it known that whoever took the job had to keep them on board.
With Carey becoming the Owls head coach, the Huskies are now the only FBS team without a head coach. Early reports suggest state that Thomas Hammock, the NIU legend and current Baltimore Ravens running backs coach, is the lead candidate to replace Carey. Follow our friends over at Hustle Belt for the latest on the Northern Illinois coaching search.