Temple Football interim head coach Everett Withers held his first press conference a day after Athletic Director Arthur Johnson announced former head coach Stan Drayton would no longer lead the program.
“I’ve got a lot of gratitude to have had an opportunity to work with Coach Drayton again,” Withers said. “I always had a great thought of how he handled kids and players. I watched him handle the Ezekiel Elliott’s at Ohio State and then the guys in Texas have always thought he did a great job of growing kids. That’s something that I have taken from him in the last couple of years.”
The main topic of the press conference was the feeling in the locker room among the players following Drayton’s dismissal. There was an outpouring of support from players on social media following the announcement, with many posting about the impact he had on the team.
“I think [the players] are doing remarkably well,” Withers said. “We’ve got some kids that are very mature on our football team and we’ve got some young kids. They understand this is a great sport, but a tough business.”
Withers said players were informed of the decision during a meeting with Johnson at 11 a.m. Sunday morning. Withers also said he was not in the room for the meeting and did not know how the players initially reacted to the news.
Drayton had caught attention after he spoke candidly about Temple’s relationship with name, image and likeness following Temple’s 52-6 loss to Tulane on Nov. 9. He spoke in depth about the NIL situation at Temple, something he had never done before to “avoid using it as an excuse.” He highlighted the differences between the Owls’ situation to Tulane’s, as the Green Wave has invested in players and it is paying off for them.
Withers was not as quick to pin the blame on a lack of NIL for the program’s shortcomings in Drayton’s tenure, instead turning to injuries, poor depth and bad luck. The interim head coach still gave his views on NIL and the situation in college athletics as a whole.
“Across the group of five in athletics, there needs to be people sitting down at each one of these universities to decide how much you want to invest in it,” Withers said. “Revenue sharing is coming. How much of that will keep you relevant? How much will you be able to put together in collectives and NIL space? So what are you willing to do to be relevant and to win in today’s climate? In college athletics, we know what the Power Four is doing, but are there enough Group of Five teams willing to do the things that need to be done?”
Withers also discussed the recruiting landscape now that the program’s leadership has shifted. Recruits that Drayton landed, like JUCO defensive back Dylan King, have announced they are reopening their recruitment. A 30-day transfer window is now open for the players currently on the roster. No one has entered the portal yet and Withers said he has not had any of those conversations with players.
The Owls still have two games left in the 2024 season. The defense that Withers commanded through 10 games was one of the worst in the country, ranking 120th in the country in scoring defense. Withers will hand the defensive coordinator duties to linebackers coach Chris Woods so Withers can focus on calling the game.
Withers has been coaching since 1988 and has served as a head coach on three different occasions. He served as interim head coach for North Carolina in 2011, then head coach of James Madison from 2014-15 and Texas State from 2016-18.
Withers joined Drayton at Temple in 2022, serving as chief of staff before being moved to outside linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, which he has been for the last two seasons. Withers and Drayton had a long history, with the two coaching together at Texas and Ohio State in the past.
Temple sits at 3-7 and 2-4 in the American Athletic Conference with two games left. The Owls play at UTSA on Nov. 22 and close out their season at home on Nov. 30 against North Texas.
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