The longest-tenured active Division I head football coach in the country is no other than our very own Kevin Callahan.
Coach Callahan played football himself as a part of the defensive line for the University of Rochester from 1975 to 1976. His coaching career started very shortly after he began coaching as a graduate assistant at the University of Albany from 1977 to 1979. In just his first year of coaching, he saw success as he led the Great Danes to the semifinals of the Division III playoffs as the offensive backfield coach. For the next two years, he acted as the outside linebackers coach. Coach Callahan went on to coach at Syracuse University in the year 1980 as an assistant coach where he served as the offensive backfield coach and at Wagner College from 1981 to 1983 where he served as the defensive coordinator, linebackers coach, and recruiting coordinator.
Just before accepting the position of head coach for Monmouth, Coach Callahan was an assistant coach for Colgate College where he coached all 11 All-Patriot League players as the defensive coordinator.
With an array of teams and experience under his belt, Coach Callahan accepted the position of head coach for Monmouth in August of 1992 to become the first and only head football coach Monmouth has had. By Callahan’s sixth year as head coach for Monmouth, he was named NEC Coach of the Year after leading Monmouth to their second NEC Championship in three years. In that same year, the team secured 30 new school records and held one of the top offenses and defenses in Division I-AA.
Throughout the years, Coach Callahan created a very successful program leading the Hawks to their first-ever Big-South Title and NCAA playoff game, as well as creating some of the top offensive and defensive lines.
The Jersey Shore Hall of Fame Coach just completed his 31st year as head football coach for Monmouth and leading up to this season accumulated a 178-135 record with seven conference titles and three FCS playoff appearances.
Callahan’s winning tradition has guided a once non-scholarship program to a top-ten national ranking team. Under Callahan’s watch, 16 former Hawks have earned spots on NFL rosters including Super Bowl Champion Chris Hogan and all-pro wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, Miles Austin. Austin played under Coach Callahan from the years 2002 to 2005 where he set a record in receiving yards, which has since been broken. In 2006, Austin was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys to make him the first player from Monmouth to make it to the NFL. Austin played for the Dallas Cowboys from 2006 to 2013 before going on to play for the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015. In 2016, Austin was inducted into the Monmouth University Athletics Hall of Fame.
Hogan played four seasons of lacrosse at Penn State before playing a single season for Monmouth football where he split time between wide receiver and defensive back. Hogan caught 12 passes for 147 yards and three touchdowns while. Hogan has played with the San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, and Miami Dolphins before being signed by the Buffalo Bills and getting promoted to the active roster for four seasons.
In 2016, Hogan signed with the New England Patriots, where he went on to Superbowl LI and Super Bowl LII. After three years with the New England Patriots, Hogan went on to play for the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and the New Orleans Saints for his final season.
The Monmouth Football program wouldn’t be what it is today without Coach Callahan. It is evident throughout the years the program has developed into something great and it’s evident through the success of the teams and players, some of which have gone on to play in the NFL.
