Charleston, SC – Former Lehigh head coach Kevin Higgins has been named the new head coach at The Citadel, it was announced Thursday. Higgins posted a record of 56-25 in seven seasons in Bethlehem before departing to become an assistant coach with the NFL’s Detroit Lions.
Thursday’s announcement marks Higgins’ return to the collegiate ranks. “Kevin and I have remained extremely close since his departure from Lehigh over four years ago,” said current Lehigh head coach Pete Lembo, who succeeded Higgins on the sidelines at Goodman Stadium. “His experience in Detroit was very fulfilling and now he moves on to the next big challenge in his career. I know he is excited to build a strong football program at The Citadel. He and his family will be an outstanding addition to the Charleston community."
Below is the text of the official press release of The Citadel, announcing the Higgins hiring....
Citadel Director of Athletics Les Robinson with the approval of Citadel president Major General John S. Grinalds (USMC ret.), announced Thursday afternoon that former Detroit Lions quarterbacks and wide receivers coach Kevin Higgins has been named The Citadel’s 23rd head football coach
Higgins, who served as the quarterbacks coach for his first three years with the Lions, was responsible for the tutoring and developing of Detroit’s first-round draft pick quarterback Joey Harrington. This past season he assumed the position of wide receivers coach and was responsible for the development of one of the most exciting trios of wide outs in the NFL: Az-Zahir Hakim, Charles Rogers and Roy Williams. Higgins coached Roy Williams to set Lions single season records for a rookie in receptions (54), receiving yards (817) and touchdowns (8).
Before joining the NFL ranks, Higgins was one of the hottest coaches in Division I-AA football at Lehigh where he led the Mountain Hawks to three straight NCAA playoff appearances. The Higgins’ led team lost only one regular season game in his final three seasons and posted a 32-1 record during that time. During his tenure, Lehigh defeated Richmond and Western Illinois in the playoffs and posted regular season wins over I-AA powers Wofford and Delaware.
The West Chester graduate posted an overall record of 56-25-1 (30-9 in Patriot League play) during his seven seasons atop the Mountain Hawks gridiron program. He led Lehigh to four Patriot League Championships (1995, 1998, 1999 and 2000) and was named Patriot League Coach of the Year three times (1995, 1998 and 2000). In 1999 and 2000 he was a candidate for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year award. In 2000, Higgins helped Lehigh accrue its second undefeated regular season (11-0) in three years and its third-straight league title. The team ended the season 12-1 after being defeated by Delaware in the quarterfinals of the Division I-AA playoffs. In 1999, Lehigh was 10-1 and earned an at-large postseason bid after being Co-Patriot League champions and ranked 14th nationally. He also was named GTE Regional Coach of the Year in ’99. The previous season, Lehigh completed its first undefeated regular season (11-0) under Higgins, and defeated third-ranked Richmond in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to Massachusetts, who went on to win the national championship.Under Higgins’ tutelage, Lehigh developed into one of the premier passing offenses in the country, and topped the Patriot League in passing offense during five of his last seven years. Three former players, Rabih Abdullah (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Lehigh’s all-time leading rusher, Rich Owens (Kansas City Chiefs) and Phil Stambaugh (Jacksonville Jaguars) played in the NFL in 2001.During the summers of 1996-97, Higgins did an internship with the Philadelphia Eagles who held their training camp on the Lehigh University campus. It was there that he studied under the tutelage of current Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden learning the intricacies of the West Coast offense. Prior to his arrival in Bethlehem, Higgins was an assistant coach at the University of Richmond from 1985-87, after beginning his collegiate coaching career at Gettysburg (Pa.) College from 1981-84. Before jumping into the college ranks, he worked as a head basketball and baseball coach, and was an assistant football coach at North Warren (N.J.) High School from 1979-80. He was also the head basketball coach and assistant football coach at Emerson (N.J.) High School from 1977-78. A native of Emerson, N.J., Higgins attended Emerson High School where he was captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams during his senior year. He was recently inducted into the Emerson High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Higgins a 1977 graduate of West Chester (Pa.) University earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education, and played free safety on the school’s football squad and was the team’s most valuable defensive back. In 1981, he earned a master’s degree in physical education from East Stroudsburg (Pa.) University.Higgins and his wife, Kay, a former collegiate head basketball coach, have three children, Tim, Meaghan and Katie Rose.
