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Kent State fires football coach Kenni Burns following investigation

Kent State fires football coach Kenni Burns following investigation

NBC Sports11-04-2025

KENT, Ohio — Kent State fired coach Kenni Burns on Friday following an investigation related to his two-year tenure.
Athletic director Randale Richmond said in a statement that offensive coordinator Mark Carney would serve as the interim coach for the upcoming season with a national search taking place at the end of the year.
'At this time, our focus will be to support our student-athletes and provide them with the best opportunity to have a positive and competitive experience,' Richmond added.
Kent State did not provide details on why Burns was fired.
Burns, who had a 1-23 record, was put on administrative leave with pay on March 27, a couple of days before the Golden Flashes began spring practices. Kent State was 0-12 last season, the fifth time in school history they had gone winless.
Before arriving at Kent State, Burns was the running backs coach at Minnesota.
Kent State opens its season on Aug. 30 against Merrimack, a Football Championship Subdivision foe.
The Golden Flashes schedule gets more difficult after that, including road games against Texas Tech (Sept. 6), Florida State (Sept. 20) and Oklahoma (Oct. 4).

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Brent Burns, Duncan Keith, Niklas Kronwall, Kevin Bieksa, Mike Cammalleri, Ryane Clowe, Zach Parise, Joffrey Lupul, Ryan Whitney, Ryan Kesler — all of them, and many others, spent 2004-05 in the AHL. And the Phantoms, with a mix of fresh faces, seasoned minor league vets and rugged enforcers — including Patrick Sharp, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, R.J. Umberger and more — proved to be the greatest team in a league that, for a brief moment, was the greatest in the world. Advertisement 'Everywhere we went, we saw multiple NHL players playing down in the minors that season,' said Sharp, who went on to win three Stanley Cup championships with the Chicago Blackhawks and an Olympic gold medal with Team Canada. 'The All-Star team that year was just a stacked list of prospects that basically all went on and had great careers. It's cool to look back at that list and actually be a part of it.' Said Stevens: 'It was like a mini NHL, with the young stars of tomorrow. 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One of Stevens' assistants with the Phantoms then was Craig Berube — considered one of the toughest players in NHL history, who went on to win the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues as their head coach in 2019, and who just completed his first season behind the Toronto Maple Leafs' bench. Stevens, Berube and assistant coach Kjell Samuelsson established the Phantoms' team identity early. It was a defensive mentality built on hard work, playing for one another and pushing back with their ample toughness when necessary in a league in which every team still had at least one or two glove-droppers. 'We were coached by a really good coach,' Seidenberg said. 'It was very structured. He instilled that attitude into the lineup.' Advertisement The Phantoms lost their first two games — and then promptly rattled off 17 straight wins, then an AHL record. 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Said Sharp: 'I was really interested in what was going on at the highest level, as far as, 'Are we going to play games this year? Is there going to be a training camp? Am I going to get a chance to compete and show I can be an NHL player?' But on the other side of things, I was in the middle of a full season with teammates and coaches and training staff, and we were committed to what was going on there.' By mid-February, it was evident there wasn't going to be any NHL hockey that year. 'Once you knew that it was a lockout for the whole season, there was a huge commitment to our group that hey, we've got a chance to go deep in the playoffs,' Sharp said. 'And let's go get this thing.' But then Stevens had a problem. He knew Carter and Richards, hotshot prospects and Flyers first-round picks, were wrapping up their junior careers that year, and that he had to find a way to get them into the lineup when they came aboard in April. Advertisement Carter was drafted No. 11 in 2003 — arguably the deepest draft of the century so far. Richards was taken at No. 24. Both were standouts as teenagers. Carter led the Soo Greyhounds in scoring in each of his final three seasons there, eclipsing 30 goals every season, while Richards captained the Kitchener Rangers to the Memorial Cup in 2003 and was the captain of Team Canada's World Junior Championship squad in 2005, too. Everyone knew the pair would be in the NHL sooner than later — perhaps even that season, had there been one. Umberger and Sharp were the Phantoms' top two centers prior to the arrival of Carter and Richards — who were also centers. Stevens, as he recalled, went to Sharp with a sensitive question. 'How would you feel about playing wing?' Stevens asked. 'Would I be playing with Jeff Carter?' Sharp replied. He would be, Stevens told him. 'Then I feel pretty good about it,' Sharp said. Sharp had a chuckle when reminded of that exchange. 'That's pretty much exactly what happened,' he said. 'It seems like when I got put to the wing, it freed me up a little bit offensively. If that meant I got to play alongside Carts on the top line, I was going to be all for it, no doubt.' Said Carter: 'Sharpie was really good with me. He was a huge help for me just kind of adjusting to the pro game and everything that comes with it. All those guys were awesome. … It can be tough coming in at the end of the year, but no one cared. They just wanted to win. If I could play to my abilities and help them win, they were like, all right, let's go.' Carter, who arrived before Richards and managed to get into three regular-season games, immediately showed why he was such an exciting prospect. He led the Calder Cup playoffs in goals (12) and points (23), while Sharp was second in playoff scoring with 21 points. Advertisement Richards, who showed up midway through the Phantoms' second-round series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, posted 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 14 playoff games, showcasing the renowned tenacity that eventually helped him become captain of the Flyers in 2008. The fit was seamless. 'They were so respectful,' said Stevens, who also coached Carter and Richards when they played key roles in the Kings' Stanley Cup championships. 'They were the guys picking up pucks at the end of practice. They were last ones getting on the elevator, getting on the bus. They were, in their own right, young stars at that time; everybody knew it. They didn't act like young stars. They acted like young guys that were happy to be a part of a team and were willing to do whatever they could to help out. I think because of that, they were easily accepted by the group, and allowed us to do what we did.' Suddenly, with solid goaltending and a much more high-powered attack adding to their two-way depth up and down the lineup, the Phantoms reached a new level. They dispatched the Norfolk Admirals in the first round in six games, the Penguins in the second round in five games, and the Bruins in the conference finals in six games to reach the Calder Cup finals and a meeting with the Chicago Wolves. And because of the circus taking over their home arena — the since-demolished Spectrum — the Phantoms moved into the NHL arena across the parking lot, then known as Wachovia Center. Flyers general manager Bob Clarke also allowed the Phantoms to use the Flyers' dressing room, giving them access to the more capacious and advanced facilities. 'We were getting treated like NHL players,' Slaney said. 'You've got the locker room, the weight room, the cold tubs — you're getting prepared for a game every night. That kind of stuff behind the scenes was great. It helped the trainers, and helped the players to be ready to perform.' The city took notice. The Phantoms had always drawn well for an AHL team since they were founded in 1996 — they led the league in attendance from 1996-97 to 2001-02, and were seventh that season, averaging 7,967 fans per game. But after they captured the first two games of the finals in Chicago, they returned to Philadelphia for games 3 and 4 to larger-than-normal crowds that were starved for a winning team. Advertisement 'One thing I noticed, it was louder every game compared to the Spectrum,' Slaney said. 'It was the only hockey in town in Philly at the time, so people were actually showing up.' More than 12,000 fans attended their 2-1 win in Game 3, in which goals by Richards and Sharp were the difference. Then, in Game 4 on June 10, 2005, the Phantoms drew an AHL-record sellout crowd of 20,103, all draped in purple T-shirts handed out at the door, to see the team complete the sweep with a 5-2 victory to raise the Calder Cup. And it wasn't Sharp, Carter, Richards or any other future NHL regulars who scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal. It was the scrappy Stafford, who managed to stay in the lineup for all 80 regular-season games and 21 playoff games, who hopped over the bench on a rush and potted the rebound of a shot from Sharp to give the Phantoms a commanding 3-0 second-period lead. It was just his second goal of the postseason, but it was the biggest of his career. 'Hard to believe, actually,' Stafford said, 'that it resulted in the way that it did.' (Editor's note: The Athletic's Kevin Kurz worked as assistant public relations director for the Philadelphia Phantoms in 2005. He joined The Athletic in 2017.) (Top photo of Mike Richards (right): Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

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