Two more FCS coaches are no longer in their 2015 posts. One had a quiet and peaceful ending, retiring after 43 years coaching college football. The other wasn’t happy about the ending at all.
Jacksonville University head coach Kerwin Bell–the former Florida Gator quarterback–had led the Dolphins to 66 wins in eight seasons at the non-scholarship Pioneer League school. He wanted to see JU explore options to possibly become a scholarship school, and it appears that once he made those thoughts public, the school wasn’t interested in renewing his contract. Bell felt he never received a clear answer when he made his concerns known.
“[JU] can spin it all they want. If I knew [scholarship football] wasn’t going to happen, then tell me and I’ll run the program exactly the way you want,” Bell told The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville. “Instead, they let it linger on. Then say at the end we have philosophical differences. I never demanded anything. It ticks me off. So why did it have to wait until 12 days after our season was over, and now our assistants don’t have a job? What did we do to be put in this position? I’m disappointed in the way they handled it. When a guy does a good job for you for nine years, he deserves more respect than that.”
At Tennessee Tech, longtime college coach Watson Brown was ready to hang it up after coaching 348 games in his career (as a head coach). He has been the head coach at his alma mater Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, Rice, UAB, Austin Peay
and finally at Tennessee Tech–where he coached for nine seasons.
“I knew when I came to Tennessee Tech that this would be it,” Brown said in a statement. “I knew it would be my final college position. I had a goal when I came here, and that was to win a championship. We set the program up that way and it happened. That was it, but I didn’t want to leave after that. It would have left the cupboard bare, and I didn’t want to do that. Now it’s back up, and ready to win another in the next couple of years, but I don’t think I’m that guy.”
They are the 9th and 10th openings in the FCS. Last year there were 17 changes. Only one vacancy has already been filled–Texas Southern has hired Mike Haywood.
| FCS SCHOOL | 2015 COACH | 2015 REC. | OVERALL | NOTES |
| Austin Peay | Kirby Cannon | 0-11 | 1-34 (3 yrs) | Didn’t come within 2 TDs of anyone this year |
| E. Kentucky | Dean Hood | 6-5 | 55-38 (8 yrs) | Six of eight seasons were winning records |
| Jackson State | Harold Jackson | 3-8 | 8-15 (2 yrs) | Three losses by 6 points or less |
| Jacksonville | Kerwin Bell | 9-2 | 66-35 (8 yrs) | Nasty ending to a very good coaching run |
| Maine | Jack Cosgrove | 3-8 | 129-135 (23 yrs) | Has moved into administration |
| Montana State | Rob Ash | 5-6 | 70-38 (9 yrs) | Ash’s first losing season |
| So. Illinois | Dale Lennon | 3-8 | 51-42 (8 yrs) | Five very close losses with good teams |
| South Dakota | Joe Glenn | 5-6 | 12-34 (4 yrs) | North Dakota State upset win was highlight |
| Tennessee Tech | Watson Brown | 4-7 | 42-60 (9 yrs) | Retired after 43-year coaching career |
| Tex. Southern | Darrell Asberry | 3-7 | 12-31 (4 yrs) | Four-game losing streak ended year |
