Florida
Temple fires Stan Drayton following overtime win over Florida Atlantic
Temple is looking for a new football coach.
The Owls announced Sunday that Stan Drayton had been fired with two games to go in the 2024 regular season. Drayton’s firing comes after the Owls took down Florida Atlantic 18-15 in overtime on Saturday.
Defensive coordinator and former Texas State coach Everett Withers will be the team’s interim coach for the final two games of the season.
“I would like to extend my appreciation to Coach Drayton for his commitment to Temple University, our student-athlete and the football program over the past three years,” Temple athletic director Arthur Johnson said in a statement. “Under his direction, our student-athletes have excelled in the classroom, been outstanding members of the community and Coach Drayton has represented the university with a tremendous amount of integrity and class. I wish him and his family well in their future endeavors.
“With the changing landscape of college football and the playoff format, the opportunity for Temple football has never been greater. Our expectation is to compete for American Athletic Conference titles, appear in bowl games consistently and build a program that our fans, alumni and students can be proud of in the classroom and on the field. I am confident that our fans will rally around our student-athletes and support them as they always have.”
Competing for AAC titles and a spot in the College Football Playoff is a long, long way off for the Owls. The win over the other Owls on Saturday brought Temple’s record to 3-7. Temple was 3-9 in each of Drayton’s first two seasons and he leaves with a career record of 9-25.
Temple hasn’t made a bowl game since the 2019 season when the Owls went 8-5 under Rod Carey. That was Carey’s first season with the program after he replaced Geoff Collins.
Since then, Temple hasn’t won more than three games in a single season and won four games over Carey’s final two seasons.
The program is a long way off from the back-to-back 10-win seasons it posted under current Nebraska coach Matt Rhule in 2015 and 2016. Rhule’s team improved by eight wins over two seasons from 2013 to 2015 and left for the Baylor job after the 2016 season.
Overall, Temple has won just one conference championship in school history and has been to nine bowl games.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – An injured manatee and her calf are recovering after authorities on a boat rescued them from the Orange River near Fort Myers on Thursday.
What we know:
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said its Marine Unit, Advanced Technology Support Unit, drone pilots and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission helped in saving the pair after the mother was found hurt in the water and in need of medical attention.
READ: Missing Florida man found stuck in mud without food or water for days: PFD
Video shows authorities pulling the frantic manatees safely onto the boat in netting before taking them to shore.
Courtesy: Lee County Sheriff’s Office
Both animals will be taken to ZooTampa for evaluation and medical care.
What we don’t know:
LCSO did not say the extent of the mother’s injuries.
By the numbers:
As of Feb. 20, there have been 85 manatee deaths across Florida in 2026, according to the FWC. Last year reportedly saw a total of 632 manatee deaths.
Dig deeper:
Earlier this month, the FWC began investigating a spike in manatee deaths, specifically in Lee County, where officials say 25 were found dead within a week.
READ: FWC investigating spike in manatee deaths over the past week
The FWC believes these manatee deaths could be from several factors: cold stress, a lack of seagrass and polluted waterways.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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