After just one season and 10 games, the FAU Owls have decided to part ways with head coach Tom Herman. The program showed little to no progress in Year 2 of the Herman era, ushering in its seventh head coach hiring cycle since 2001.
Replacement Candidates for Tom Herman at FAU
There are four FBS teams called the Owls — all four of them have fired their coaches (Rice, Temple, Kennesaw State, and now FAU).
Herman’s contract had three years remaining, and the school is set to pay him nearly $4 million in buyout payments. After going 4-8 in his debut season, the Owls sit at 2-8 and are coming off an embarrassing 18-15 overtime loss to the Temple Owls, who also just fired their head coach.
On Nov. 10, Herman fired defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Roc Bellantoni and associate head coach and offensive line coach Ed Warinner in an attempt to revitalize the roster. Instead, he joins them on the proverbial couch to end the 2024 season.
FAU’s associate head coach, special teams coordinator, and tight ends coach Chad Lunsford will step up as the interim head coach for the final two games. However, who could the Owls hire as the next face of the program?
Jonathan Patke, DC, Duke Blue Devils
Manny Diaz was a finalist for the position last go-round, so why not take a look at his protégé?
Jonathan Patke worked with Diaz at Louisianna Tech, Mississippi State, and Miami before becoming the Duke Blue Devils’ defensive coordinator last December. In his first year calling the shots, his defense ranks No. 2 in points per game (22.1) and No. 3 in yards per game (341.0) allowed in the ACC.
Shannon Dawson, OC/QBs Coach, Miami Hurricanes
Shannon Dawson has quickly made his mark with the Miami Hurricanes. The former OC at Kentucky, West Virginia, and Houston successfully persuaded Washington State transfer QB Cam Ward to bypass the NFL for a shot at leading the Hurricanes to the promised land.
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The move has paid off — Miami leads the nation in total offense, averaging 544.8 yards per game through nine contests. Ward, meanwhile, has cemented himself as a Heisman finalist. Dawson’s track record speaks for itself, with his 2022 Houston Cougars offense ranking 17th nationally and averaging 36.1 points per game.
A noted recruiter with a couple of years to set roots in the Florida area, Dawson would be a good fit for FAU.
Clint Killough, HC, Incarnate Word
Incarnate Word’s recent coaching hires have been home runs, with G.J. Kinne now thriving at Texas State and Eric Morris leading North Texas. In his second year at the helm, Clint Killough has kept the momentum going, guiding the Cardinals to a 9-2 record and the top spot in the Southland Conference.
Ranked No. 6 in the FCS, UIW is powered by former Texas A&M QB Zach Calzada, who has racked up 3,108 passing yards, good for sixth in the FCS. Perhaps the Owls dip into the lower-division well and find gold like their fellow Group of Five counterparts.
Kirby Moore, OC/QBs Coach, Missouri Tigers
The younger brother of the Philadelphia Eagles OC Kellen Moore, Kirby is an impressive offensive mind in his own right, as proven by his stops with the Fresno State Bulldogs and Missouri Tigers.
Moore deserves much of the credit for Missouri’s turnaround, as they’ve gone 18-5 in the last two seasons after posting a 17-19 record in the previous three years. Prior to joining FAU, athletic director Brian White operated as Missouri’s senior associate athletics director in 2015 and deputy athletics director for external relations in 2016, so there’s the Tigers connection to tap into.
Kendal Briles, OC/QBs Coach, TCU Horned Frogs
Owls fans should remember Kendal Briles, who served as Lane Kiffin’s OC during the school’s record-setting 11-win season in 2017, which included a Conference USA Championship.
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Since then, Briles has flourished with Houston (2018), Arkansas (2020-22), and TCU (2023-present), although a rough one-year stop at Florida State (2019) under Willie Taggart shouldn’t be forgotten.
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