K.C. Keeler
K.C. Keeler went 278–124–1 as a head coach, 1993–2026, at Rowan, Delaware, Sam Houston State, Sam Houston and Temple. Wikipedia’s season articles record one season differently (2026, 2–4); by them his record is 278–123–1. Share
29 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1993–2001 at Rowan; 2002–12 at Delaware; 2014–20 at Sam Houston State (on file under another coach); 2021–22 at Sam Houston (on file under another coach). They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 278–124–1 career
- Seasons
- 33
- Schools
- 5
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Born
- Jul 26, 1959
- Alma mater
- Delaware 1980
- Best season
- 2024 10–3
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Rowan * | 11–2 | 1st | NCAA Division III Championship L | ||
| 1994 | Rowan * | 6–3 | T–3rd | |||
| 1995 | Rowan * | 10–3–1 | 1st | NCAA Division III Championship L | ||
| 1996 | Rowan * | 10–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division III Championship L | ||
| 1997 | Rowan * | 11–1 | 1st | NCAA Division III Semifinal L | ||
| 1998 | Rowan * | 10–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division III Championship L | ||
| 1999 | Rowan * | 12–2 | 2nd | NCAA Division III Championship L | ||
| 2000 | Rowan * | 7–2 | 2nd | |||
| 2001 | Rowan * | 11–2 | T–1st | NCAA Division III Semifinal L | ||
| 2002 | Delaware * | 6–6 | T–6th | |||
| 2003 | Delaware * | 15–1 | T–1st | NCAA Division I-AA Championship W | 1 | |
| 2004 | Delaware * | 9–4 | T–1st | NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal L | 7 | |
| 2005 | Delaware * | 6–5 | 3rd (South) | |||
| 2006 | Delaware * | 5–6 | T–4th (South) | |||
| 2007 | Delaware * | 11–4 | T–3rd (South) | NCAA Division I Championship L | 2 | |
| 2008 | Delaware * | 4–8 | 5th (South) | |||
| 2009 | Delaware * | 6–5 | T–4th (South) | |||
| 2010 | Delaware * | 12–3 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Championship L | 2 | |
| 2011 | Delaware * | 7–4 | T–5th | 17 | ||
| 2012 | Delaware * | 5–6 | 8th | |||
| 2013: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2014 | Sam Houston State * | 11–5 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Semifinal L | 6 | |
| 2015 | Sam Houston State * | 11–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Semifinal L | 3 | |
| 2016 | Sam Houston State * | 12–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinal L | 5 | |
| 2017 | Sam Houston State * | 12–2 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Semifinal L | 4 | |
| 2018 | Sam Houston State * | 6–5 | T–4th | |||
| 2019 | Sam Houston State * | 7–5 | T–3rd | |||
| 2020 | Sam Houston State * | 10–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Championship W | 1 | |
| 2021 | Sam Houston * | 11–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinal L | 5 | |
| 2022 | Sam Houston * | 5–4 | ||||
| 2023 | Sam Houston | 3–9 | T–6th | |||
| 2024 | Sam Houston | 9–3 | T–2nd | New Orleans (not coached) | ||
| 2025 | Temple | 5–7 | T–9th | |||
| 2026 | Temple | 2–5 (Wikipedia: 2–4) | ||||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 5 | 0–5 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 2 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Conference games | 27 | 12–15 | 44% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 20 | 10–10 | 50% |
| At home | 21 | 9–12 | 43% |
| On the road | 19 | 8–11 | 42% |
| At neutral sites | 3 | 2–1 | 67% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 13 | 11–2 | 85% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 30 | 8–22 | 27% |
His own 43 games on file, 2023–2026, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Kennesaw Stateseries | 2 | 2–0 |
| Louisiana Techseries | 2 | 2–0 |
| New Mexico Stateseries | 2 | 1–1 |
| Florida Internationalseries | 2 | 1–1 |
| Libertyseries | 2 | 1–1 |
| Charlotteseries | 2 | 1–1 |
| UTEPseries | 2 | 1–1 |
| Jacksonville Stateseries | 2 | 0–2 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–82 | Amherst | Assistant coach | |
| 1986–92 | Rowan | Assistant coach | |
| 1993–2001 | Rowan | Head coach | |
| 2002–12 | Delaware | Head coach | |
| 2014–24 | Sam Houston State | Head coach | |
| 2025–present | Temple | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Assistants who became head coaches
- Bobby AcostaWidener
- Dave CohenHofstra
- Kyle FloodRutgers
- Isaac CollinsWidener, Seton Hill, Albright
- Neal BrownTroy, West Virginia, North Texas
- James PerryBryant, Brown
- Damian WroblewskiJames Madison
- Jim HofherBuffalo, Cornell
- Brad SherrodTexas Wesleyan, Morehouse
- Dan LanningOregon
- Phil LongoSam Houston, La Salle
- Ryan CartyDelaware
- and 2 more
Coached under him, later head coaches (14)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Acosta | Rowan, 2000–01: special teams and defensive backs coach; Delaware, 2005: tight ends coach | Widener | |
| Dave Cohen | Delaware, 2002–05: defensive coordinator | Hofstra | |
| Kyle Flood | Delaware, 2002–04: assistant head coach and offensive line coach | Rutgers | |
| Isaac Collins | Delaware, 2005: assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator | Widener, Seton Hill, Albright | |
| Neal Brown | Delaware, 2005: wide receivers coach | Troy, West Virginia, North Texas | |
| James Perry | Delaware, 2006: running backs coach | Bryant, Brown | |
| Damian Wroblewski | Delaware, 2007–11: assistant head coach, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator | James Madison | |
| Jim Hofher | Delaware, 2009–12: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Buffalo, Cornell | |
| Brad Sherrod | Delaware, 2010–12: assistant head coach and linebackers coach; Sam Houston, 2014–15: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; 2016: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Texas Wesleyan, Morehouse | |
| Dan Lanning | Sam Houston, 2014: defensive backs coach and co-recruiting coordinator | Oregon | |
| Phil Longo | Sam Houston, 2014–16: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Sam Houston, La Salle | |
| Ryan Carty | Sam Houston, 2018–21: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Delaware | |
| John Perry | Sam Houston, 2022: offensive coordinator | Merrimack | |
| Brad Cornelsen | Sam Houston, 2023–24: offensive coordinator | Sam Houston |
Other assistants under him (18)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Kirk Ciarrocca | Delaware, 2002–07: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; 2012: running backs coach | |
| Lyle Hemphill | Delaware, 2004–05: graduate assistant and secondary coach; 2010: cornerbacks coach | |
| Ben Albert | Delaware, 2006–09: assistant head coach and linebackers coach | |
| Nick Rapone | Delaware, 2006–12: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| Jared Ambrose | Delaware, 2007–08: graduate assistant | |
| Steve Casula | Delaware, 2008–09: student assistant | |
| Matt Merkens | Sam Houston, 2014: student assistant; 2016–17: offensive assistant; 2018–19: offensive quality control coach; 2020–24: tight ends coach; 2022: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Matt Powledge | Sam Houston, 2014–15: special teams coordinator and running backs coach | |
| Patrick Toney | Sam Houston, 2015: safeties coach | |
| Tim Cramsey | Sam Houston, 2017: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| John Lovett | Sam Houston, 2018: special teams coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Brian Natkin | Sam Houston, 2023: offensive line coach | |
| Clayton Carlin | Sam Houston, 2023: co-defensive coordinator | |
| Joe Morris | Sam Houston, 2023: co-defensive coordinator | |
| Skyler Cassity | Sam Houston, 2024: defensive coordinator | |
| Brian Smith | Temple, 2025–26: defensive coordinator and safeties coach | |
| Keith Dudzinski | Temple, 2025–26: linebackers coach | |
| Tyler Walker | Temple, 2025–26: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
How he coached
Keeler’s teams went for it on 19% of fourth downs and on 34% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 48% of plays and took 27.4 seconds a play, 2023–2026.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 12 g | Sam Houston | 20 of 107 19% | 34% | 57% | 25.6 | −0.09 | |
| 2024 12 g | Sam Houston | 18 of 103 17% | 33% | 44% | 27.0 | −0.04 | |
| 2025 12 g | Temple | 19 of 94 20% | 33% | 50% | 28.4 | +0.14 | |
| 2026 7 g | Temple | 9 of 43 21% | 38% | 40% | 29.3 | +0.19 | |
| All 43 g | 66 of 347 19% | 34% | 48% | 27.4 | +0.03 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.