Kennesaw State football coach Brian Bohannon stepped down, the school announced Sunday, following an overtime loss to UTEP that dropped the Owls to 1-8 in their first season at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.

Bohannon was the first and only coach in the history of the program, which began play in 2015. He was hired in 2013 and went 72-38 in 10 seasons, including four Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances and five top-15 finishes from 2017 to 2021. But the Owls are 9-20 over the last three seasons. Part of that is due to the transition from the FCS to the FBS and Conference USA.

“I want to express my sincere appreciation to coach Bohannon and his family for their dedication to Kennesaw State University and our football program over the past 11 years,” Kennesaw athletic director Milton Overton said in a statement. “Coach Bohannon led Kennesaw State into the football era, poured his heart and soul into this program and represented our university with the highest standards of professionalism and character.”

Kennesaw State beat undefeated Liberty on Oct. 23, but the Owls have lost to struggling CUSA programs UTEP and Middle Tennessee along with FCS program UT Martin. Co-offensive coordinator Chandler Burks will assume the role of interim head coach for the remainder of the season. A nationwide search will start immediately to find the Owls’ next head football coach, the school announced.

Kennesaw State is located just outside Atlanta and proved it could win consistently during its FCS era, so it’s expected to get a lot of interest in the coaching carousel.

(Photo: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)