On Dec.1, 2024, Temple officially hired K.C. Keeler as its new head football coach, marking the start of a new chapter for the program. Keeler brought an impressive resume from his previous stop at Sam Houston State which included an FCS National Championship in 2020, but rebuilding Temple is set to be a tall task.
Keeler had a full plate with early national signing day and the opening of the transfer portal just days after he stepped onto North Broad. Along with building a roster, Keeler also had to assemble a coaching staff around him. He opted not to retain any of the in-house coaches and chose to craft his own coaching staff.
“I’m so excited that we are finally able to announce our new coaching staff,” Keeler wrote in a statement. “We’ve been working on that since day one. We’ve been able to build a staff that is relatively young yet brings a lot of experience to Temple. I think our kids will quickly see that this staff is committed to helping them become the best versions of themselves — both on and off the field.”
Now after a little more than a month on the job, Keeler’s inaugural staff at Temple is beginning to take shape. Here is an in-depth look at some of the coordinators and position coaches who will be joining Keeler on the sidelines.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TYLER WALKER
Temple’s offense was one of the worst in the country in 2024 and Keeler has zeroed in on Montana State offensive coordinator Tyler Walker for the same post at Temple, OwlScoop.com reported. The hire is not official yet but is expected to be confirmed in the upcoming days.
Walker will bring an impressive pedigree to the Owls after leading Montana State’s offense to an FCS National Championship appearance this past season. The Bobcats’ offense was the top-ranked scoring offense at the FCS level, averaging 41 points per game.
The 35-year-old coordinator had been at Montana State since 2021 and was in his first season as offensive coordinator. Before leading the offense, Walker spent one season as director of recruiting and then two seasons as the tight ends coach.
The main component of his record-setting offense was the rushing game, an area the Owls have struggled in during recent seasons. Montana State averaged 295 rushing yards per game with Walker, the second most in the FCS. In comparison, Temple averaged just 92 rushing yards per game this past season which was bottom 10 in the FBS.
Tommy Mellott, the quarterback of Walker’s offense, earned the Walter Payton Award which is the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. His offense also produced two 1,000-yard rushers in Scottre Humphrey and Adam Jones, along with two AFCA All-American offensive linemen.
OFFENSIVE POSITION COACHES
Offensive line coach Al Johnson will be joining Walker from Montana State, he will be taking the same position at Temple, Owlscoop.com reported. Johnson had been the offensive line coach at Montana State since 2023 and had four of his linemen named All-Americans last season and two this season. Johnson’s unit was a major factor in the Bobcats’ ability to run the ball successfully.
The Owls’ new running backs coach is set to be Andrew Pierce, who joins Keeler’s staff from Delaware. Pierce had been the Blue Hens’ running backs coach since the 2021 season and helped guide Delaware to the 29th-ranked rushing offense in the FCS last season. Before becoming a coach, Pierce also played running back at Delaware where he left as the second leading rusher in program history.
Keeler will be adding an all-time great wide receiver as the coach of the unit in Roy Roundtree. The former Michigan standout spent last season as the wide receivers coach for Miami of Ohio, where he helped it have two receivers record more than 800 yards. As a player, Roundtree recorded 154 catches for more than 2,000 receiving yards. Roundtree had a number of different stops in his coaching career including Mcneese State and Grand Valley State.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BRIAN SMITH
The leader of Keeler’s defense will be former Rice defensive coordinator Brian Smith. The Wilmington, Delaware native has spent the last seven seasons as Rice’s defensive coordinator and he also coached the safeties this past season.
Smith’s defense ranked fifth in the AAC in 2024, giving up 25.4 points per game. Rice was eighth in the country in passing defense, allowing just 173 passing yards per game. The unit ranked 35th overall in the country, and Smith was nominated for the Broyles Award as a top assistant coach for his unit’s performance.
Smith will be in charge of turning around a Temple defense that severely underperformed during the 2024 season. The unit allowed 417 yards per game, which ranked 112th in the country and it particularly struggled against the rush where it allowed 226 yards per game.
Before Rice, Smith spent nine seasons as an assistant coach for various NFL teams. He was the quality control coach for the New York Jets from 2007-12 and the assistant defensive backs coach from 2013-14. In 2015, Smith was the assistant linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, where he coached standout linebackers Brandon Graham, Mychal Kendricks and DeMeco Ryans.
DEFENSIVE POSITION COACHES
New defensive line coach Cedric Calhoun follows Smith from Rice, having spent the last seven seasons guiding the defensive line. Calhoun has sent two players from his unit to the NFL in Elijah Garcia and Myles Adams. Calhoun has experience in the NFL as well, working as an intern for the Eagles in 2008 and the San Diego Chargers from 2004-05.
Henry Baker is set to be the cornerbacks coach for Temple after spending last season in the same position for Marshall. Baker has been a cornerbacks coach since 2016, making stops at Maryland, Rutgers, North Carolina and Delaware. He recently helped Temple land four-star recruit Jett White, who was initially committed to Maryland while Baker was there.
The linebackers coach for Keeler will be Keith Dudzinski, who spent the last three seasons as the defensive coordinator at UMass. Joining Dudzinski will be Chris Raitano, who will oversee the outside linebackers. Raitano spent last season as the linebackers coach for nearby Monmouth and previously worked with Smith at Rice from 2019-22.
GENERAL MANAGER CLAYTON BARNES
Barnes was announced as Keeler’s first official hire on Jan. 6 and will serve as the first-ever general manager in Temple history. Barnes follows Keeler from Sam Houston State, where he also served as general manager for the Bearkats.
As general manager, Barnes will be responsible for building and maintaining the roster through scouting, recruiting and player retention. Barnes helped build a Sam Houston State roster this past season that won nine games in its second season at the FBS level. While at Sam Houston State, Barnes helped with evaluating recruits and the management of the roster and scholarships.
“It was very important for me to bring Clayton to Temple,” Keeler said. “He was a big reason for the success we had at Sam Houston. He’s already hit the ground running here at Temple. We agree on the type of student-athletes it takes to build a successful program.”
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