Paul Haynes, a former Kent State defensive back, was introduced on Tuesday as the Golden Flashes' 21st football coach.
Haynes, who played for Kent State from 1987 to 1991 (a time period where we covered the team for The Daily Kent Stater, which oddly makes us feel really old), takes over for Darrell Hazell, who will be leaving Kent after the GoDaddy.com Bowl to take over the football program at Purdue.
"This has been a whirlwind, and I can't begin to describe my excitement about the opportunity to come back to Kent State as head coach," Haynes said. "Being a former player and assistant coach here, and now coming back at a time where there is so much pride around the football program and the university, it is unbelievable. My family and I are excited about coming back to Ohio. I'm looking forward to getting involved with the players and embracing the Kent State alumni."
The dream died hard for Kent State on Friday night at Ford Field in Detroit.
Kent State captured the program’s first and only title. Then, as now, the rise of the Flashes came out of nowhere. (It’s always unexpected when Kent wins anything in football.) They weren’t the most imposing of champions, finishing a middling 6-5-1. But they won the MAC and played in a bowl game, something no other Kent team has been able to say- until this season.
When the Kent State Golden Flashes take the field tonight against Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit, it will be the most important athletic event not only in the football program’s history but in school history.