The FCS coaching carousel continues with Mercer head coach Drew Cronic resigning to take over the offensive coordinator position at Navy.
Cronic coached Mercer for four seasons going 28-17 overall and leading the Bears to their first FCS playoff appearance in school history in 2023. Mercer defeated Gardner-Webb 17-7 in the opening round but fell to the eventual champions South Dakota State in the second round 41-0. Mercer also lost defensive coordinator Joel Taylor in the offseason after he took over the head coaching role at 2024 FCS newcomer West Georgia.
Before becoming Mercer’s head coach, Cronic coached at the NCAA Division II program Lenoir-Rhyne leading the Bears to back-to-back semifinal appearances in 2018 and 2019. He went 25-3 overall and 15-0 in conference games in his two seasons at Lenoir-Rhyne. He was also the head coach at Reinhardt in the NAIA for two seasons in 2015 and 2016. He led the Eagles to a playoff appearance in both seasons including the semifinals in 2016, finishing 22-3 overall as head coach at Reinhardt.
Cronic became head coach after Bobby Lamb’s seven-year tenure ended following the 2019 season. Cronic is 75-23 overall in 8 seasons as a head coach and he has five playoff appearances at three different collegiate levels. With Mercer, he went 17-4 at home, which is where the Bears will start the 2024 season against Presbyterian.
Photo Credit to Mercer University Athletics
