Monmouth‘s only head coach in program history has stepped down. Kevin Callahan will move to a special advisor role in Monmouth’s athletic department, while associate head coach Jeff Gallo will take over the top spot.
Callahan was named head coach in 1992 to help build the Monmouth program. The first season was in 1993 as an independent, when the Hawks finished 2-5, but followed up with back-to-back 7-win seasons. In 1996, Monmouth moved to the Northeast Conference and would win five titles in the first 11 seasons from 1996 through 2006. Callahan led Monmouth to three 10-win seasons between 2003 and 2006.
In 2013, the Hawks played as an FCS independent before joining the Big South Conference in 2014. It was there that Monmouth made its first-ever FCS playoff appearance in 2017 as an at-large team. Callahan led them to two more appearances as the Big South champions during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The 2019 campaign saw Monmouth finish 11-3 and reach the second round of the FCS playoffs. It was the most wins in a single season, the first time Monmouth won a playoff game, and part of five straight seasons with 7+ wins.
Monmouth would move once again in 2022, joining the CAA. The Hawks finished around .500 each of the first three seasons, but 2025 was the best CAA campaign to date. Monmouth started 6-1 before an injury to quarterback Derek Robertson. The Hawks moved to 8-1 before a loss to New Hampshire and a win at North Carolina A&T put them at 9-2. Monmouth lost the season finale at home to Albany and missed the FCS playoffs as a result.
For his career, Callahan went 197-151 overall and 112-75 in conference games. He won 5 NEC titles, 2 Big South titles, made 3 FCS playoff appearances (1-3 record), and also made 2 FCS bowl games. Replacing the Monmouth legend will be Jeff Gallo, who has been a part of Callahan’s staff since 2005. He has been the offensive coordinator since 2019 and added the associate head coaching duties in 2024.
Callahan is the 13th FCS coaching change to occur in the current cycle. Albany (CAA), Bucknell (Patriot League), Cal Poly (Big Sky), Florida A&M (SWAC), Hampton (CAA), Mercer (SoCon), Penn (Ivy League), Portland State (Big Sky), Sacramento State (Big Sky), Samford (SoCon), Southern (SWAC), and Weber State (Big Sky) have also announced changes. The full list of changes can be found here.
Photo Credit to Monmouth University Athletics
