Kent State football names Mark Carney head coach after interim stint

The Golden Flashes have already tripled that number in 2025 under interim coach Mark Carney.

Carney doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, though.

‘I told you all at that time that we had the best damn one,’ athletics director Randale Richmond said Oct. 30 in a video posted to social media. ‘We agreed, and we’re going to remove the interim tag. Welcome your new head coach for Kent State football.’

Carney has clearly won over the locker room, as Kent State’s meeting room erupted in excitement at the announcement. He was met with hugs from players and chants of ‘Carney’ after Richmond broke the news.

‘I am unbelievably humbled, honored, pick something, man,’ Carney said in the video. ‘I haven’t slept in about 48 hours. This is a credit to you guys and what you all have done for this football program. This is not the mission. … This is not what we set out to accomplish. So let’s keep what we set out to accomplish in the front of our minds as we keep progressing.’

Carney took over for Kenni Burns, who went 1-23 as Kent State’s head coach. Burns was fired in April after a school investigation found violations of school conduct.

Carney was the tight ends coach at Kent State in 2023 before he was elevated to offensive coordinator in 2024. He was named interim head coach after Burns was fired.

The former Fordham quarterback has also coached at Fordham, Richmond, Bowling Green and Charlotte, with stints at Division II Virginia State and Division III Baldwin Wallace in between.

Kent State has won two of its last three games, including a 42-6 romp over UMass. The Golden Flashes are coming off a 24-21 win over Bowling Green to move to 2-2 in MAC play.