Larry Kehres (born September 7, 1949) is an American college football coach and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at Mount Union for 27 seasons from 1986 to 2012. Kehres retired from coaching in May 2013 with a record of 332–24–3 and a winning percentage of .929, the highest in college football history. Kehres also has the most national titles (11: 1993, 1996–1998, 2000–2002, 2005–2006, 2008, 2012), conference titles (23), and unbeaten regular seasons (21) of any coach in college football history. His Purple Raiders set the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football record for most consecutive victories with 55, running from 2000 to 2003. He was succeeded as head football coach by his son, Vince. The elder Kehres was also the athletic director at Mount Union from 1985 to 2020. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 7, 1949 Diamond, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1967–1970 | Mount Union |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1971–1972 | Bowling Green (GA) |
| 1973 | Johnstown HS (OH) |
| 1974–1985 | Mount Union (OC) |
| 1986–2012 | Mount Union |
| 2023 | Mount Union (QB) |
| Swimming | |
| 1974–1986 | Mount Union |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1985–2020 | Mount Union |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 332–24–3 (college football) 6–4 (high school football) |
| Tournaments | 77–12 (NCAA D-III playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 11 NCAA Division III (1993, 1996–1998, 2000–2002, 2005–2006, 2008, 2012) 23 OAC (1986, 1990, 1992–2012) | |
| Awards | |
| 9× AFCA NCAA Division III COY (1993, 1996–1998, 2000–2002, 2006, 2008) 6× OAC Coach of the Year (1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996–1997) | |
| Records | |
| Highest winning percentage in college football history (.929) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2017 (profile) | |
Early years
editKehres is a native of Diamond, Ohio. He attended and played quarterback for Portage County's Southeast High School, which shared the 1966 Portage County League championship with Windham High School, before attending Mount Union College from 1967 to 1970. At Mount Union, he played quarterback for the football team. In 1970, he set the school record with a 95-yard touchdown pass against Ohio Northern.[1]
Coaching career
editBowling Green and Johnstown-Monroe
editFrom 1971 to 1972, Kehres was a graduate assistant at Bowling Green State University, while studying for a master's degree in health and physical education.[1] In 1973, he was the head football coach at Johnstown-Monroe High School.[1]
Assistant coach at Mount Union
editIn 1974, Kehres returned to Mount Union College as an assistant football coach under head coach Ken Wable.[2] Kehres was an assistant coach and offensive coordinator for 11 years under Wable.[3][4] Wable had a .564 winning percentage in 24 years as the head coach at Mount Union.[5]
Kehres also started and served as the coach of Mount Union's swim program from 1974 to 1986.[6]
In 2023, Kehres returned to Mount Union as the quarterbacks coach under Geoff Dartt.[7]
Head coach at Mount Union
editIn 1985, Kehres became the athletic director at Mount Union. In 1986, he took over as head football coach.[2] His teams have won 11 NCAA Division III Football Championships (1993, 1996–1998, 2000–2002, 2005–2006, 2008, 2012).
Kehres' teams hold several NCAA records. In addition to owning the two longest winning streaks in NCAA history, 54 wins in 1996–1999 and 55 wins in 2000–2003, the Mount Union Purple Raiders won a conference title in 23 of his 27 seasons; at Kehres' retirement, Mount Union had an ongoing streak of 21 conference titles. During his tenure, Kehres only lost eight games and tied three times in conference play. From 1994 to 2005, his squads won 100 consecutive games against Ohio Athletic Conference opponents. The 1994 season was the last under his tenure in which the Purple Raiders lost more than one game. Finally, his record of 72–3 (.960) in his final five seasons is the best in college football history, surpassing Tom Osborne's 60–3 (.952) in his final five seasons at Nebraska.
Kehres is 3–1 against college football's all-time winningest coach, John Gagliardi, having beaten Gagliardi's St. John's squads twice in playoff match-ups and traded wins in the national title game in 2000 and 2003.
In 2009, Kehres was named first vice president of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).[8] He was elected President of the AFCA in January 2010.[2] In 2013, Kehres retired after 27 years as head coach to become the athletic director of Mount Union. His son, defensive coordinator Vince Kehres, succeeded him as head coach.
Family
editKehres and his wife, Linda, have three children, Vince, Faith, and Jan.[6] He is also the uncle of current Gannon football head coach Erik Raeburn, who played for him from 1987 to 1990 and then served as his assistant coach for a number of years.[9][10]
Head coaching record
editCollege football
editHigh school football
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnstown Johnnies () (1973) | |||||||||
| 1973 | Johnstown | 6–4 | |||||||
| Johnstown: | 6–4 | ||||||||
| Total: | 6–4 | ||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "2006 Coaching Staff: Larry Kehres, Head Coach". Mount Union College. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Mount Union's Larry Kehres Named 2010 AFCA President". AFCA. January 12, 2010. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010.
- ^ Dave Campbell (December 20, 2008). "Mount Union coach Larry Kehres has what other coaches crave: players, tradition, nine titles". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- ^ Milan Simonich (August 31, 2003). "Coach Larry Kehres has built Mount Union College into a Division III football juggernaut". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- ^ "Mt Union Football Head Coaching Records". Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
- ^ a b "2010 AFCA President Larry Kehres, University of Mount Union". AFCA. August 11, 2010. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- ^ "Larry Kehres - Assistant Coach/Quarterbacks". University of Mount Union. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ SJSU's Tomey is named president of American Football Coaches Association – Associated Press – January 13, 2009
- ^ Mount Union hosts Wabash in the NCAA Quarterfinals Archived February 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. November 26, 2011. Retrieved on February 1, 2012.
- ^ "SSU Names Erik Raeburn Head Football Coach". Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
- ^ "Coach Kehres quits Johnstown". The Newark Advocate. April 25, 1974. p. 15. Retrieved June 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.