Rod Carey Out at Temple
No surprise here:
Sources: Temple has let go Rod Carey.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 29, 2021
The Athletic and The Inquirer are now reporting this as well.
Temple went 3-9 this season, following up a 1-6 campaign in 2020, which was shortened due to COVID. The Owls were 8-5 in Carey’s first season and got their doors blown off by UNC in the Military Bowl.
Carey is the first Temple coach to depart unwillingly in quite some time. Geoff Collins left for Georgia Tech after going 15-11 in two seasons. Matt Rhule obviously had a couple of fantastic seasons before taking the Baylor job. Manny Diaz reneged on his commitment to go back to Miami while Steve Addazio and Al Golden left for Boston College and Miami, respectively.
Those moves were always understood, since Temple became a stepping stone of sorts, a non-Power Five school that fed successful coaches to bigger programs. In this case, though, the Carey hire broke the cycle, the Owls stink, and you wonder where they go from here. It feels like all momentum for an on-campus stadium is gone, and recruiting needs a restart.
Keep in mind, Carey wasn’t Temple’s first choice. When Diaz left, the Owls had to scramble and find a replacement. Carey seemed like an okay hire at the time, but his Northern Illinois teams had fallen back to Earth after winning double-digit games in 2013 and 2014. That was a long time ago.
What’s next on North Broad?