Stan Drayton named football head coach

Former Texas’ running backs coach Stan Drayton was named Temple University football’s head coach on Wednesday evening.

Stan Drayton, Texas University’s former running backs coach, is in advanced negotiations to become Temple University football’s head coach. | AMBER RITSON / FILE PHOTO

Stan Drayton, Texas University’s former running backs coach, was named Temple University football’s head coach on Wednesday evening.

“This truly is a dream come true for me,” Drayton wrote in a release Monday night. “Philadelphia has always held a special place in my heart as my wife, Monique, and I got married while we lived here. I’m so thankful to [Temple University president] Dr. Wingard, Arthur Johnson, and the Temple community for this great opportunity.”

With 27 years of coaching experience, the Cleveland, Ohio, native served as an assistant coach for the University of Pennsylvania in 1995 and Villanova University from 1996-2000, where he coached Eagles’ standout running back Brian Westbrook.

Before coaching at Texas, Drayton was the running backs coach for the NFL’s Chicago Bears from 2015-16. 

Drayton has coached multiple successful running backs at the collegiate and professional levels, including Ezekiel Elliott and Carlos Hyde at Ohio State University, Jordan Howard and Jeremy Langford with the Bears and Bijan Robinson at Texas, who was the top-rated running back recruit in the 2020 class.

Drayton was also the running backs coach at the University of Florida in 2006 when they won the BCS National Championship as the team averaged 160 rushing yards per game. 

Drayton has direct ties to Johnson, a former assistant athletic director at Texas, and played football at Allegheny College in 1993 as a running back as well. 

“He is an outstanding football coach and an even better person,” Johnson wrote in the release. “He knows what success looks like at the highest levels of football. He also knows what it takes to be successful in this city having spent six years of his career here and learned from two of the city’s legendary football coaches.”

Temple fired former head coach Rod Carey on Nov. 29 after finishing with a 12-20 record in three seasons, The Temple News reported.

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