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Northern Illinois head coach Rod Carey will be hired by Temple, as reported by Marc Narducci of the Philly Inquirer.
Carey coached six full seasons at Northern Illinois, compiling a 52-30 record (38-10) in conference. His first game as a head coach, an interim for the departing Dave Doeren, was the most important game in Northern Illinois history — the 2012 Orange Bowl against Florida State. Including that 31-10 loss, Carey never won a bowl game with the Huskies in six tries, but he brought two MAC titles and four MAC Championship appearances to DeKalb.
The 47-year old had been a member of the Huskies’ staff since 2011. In the two years before he operated as the head coach, Carey coached the offensive line (2011-12) and received offensive coordinator duties (2012). The 52 head coaching wins he would garner rank him fourth in Huskies’ history.
During his six-year tenure, Carey notably had a stranglehold on the Big Ten. He finished 4-2 against Big Ten teams, defeating Iowa (2013), Purdue (2013), Northwestern (2014), and Nebraska (2017).
On November 1, it was reported that Carey received an extension through July 1, 2022, a deal that was orchestrated in January. With the contract, Carey was set to receive a base salary of $2.4 million, distributed over the next four seasons.
Carey is the second coach to take the head job at Temple this season, as Manny Diaz briefly served as the standing head coach from December 13 to December 30. However, Diaz elected to remain at his former school in Miami (FL) after Hurricanes’ head coach Mark Richt announced retirement in late December.
Including Diaz, Temple has five head coaches that have been poached by Power Five programs this decade. Al Golden was hired by Miami (FL) in 2010, Steve Addazio was hired by Boston College in 2012, Matt Rhule was hired by Baylor in 2016, and Geoff Collins was hired by Georgia Tech on December 7.
Northern Illinois will look to fill its vacancy soon. According to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, Baltimore Ravens running backs coach Thomas Hammock may be one of the top candidates. Hammock rushed for 2,432 yards and 25 touchdowns with the Huskies from 1999 to 2002.