Subscribe
Follow Us
With the firing of head football coach Vincent Brown, North Carolina A&T is now searching for a new leader to restore the program’s success. Several potential candidates are gaining attention, including former Aggie standout Tarik Cohen.
Standout running back Cohen, a former MEAC star and future Hall of Famer, recently retired from the NFL and has voiced frustration over the team's struggles. He has expressed a willingness to help the program moving forward. Cohen’s accomplishments at A&T are legendary. During his sophomore and junior seasons, he rushed for a combined 2,883 yards.
Prior to 2016, only Maurice Hicks had rushed for more yards over a two-year span (2,812). Cohen was instrumental in the Aggies' 41-34 victory over Alcorn State in the inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl on Dec. 19, 2015, rushing for 295 yards and three touchdowns. His performance marked the fifth-highest postseason rushing total in NCAA FCS history, earning him offensive MVP honors.
A four-time first-team all-conference honoree, Cohen was the MEAC’s Offensive Player of the Year three times. He is the conference's all-time leader in carries (868) and rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons at A&T. Cohen was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft and played four seasons in the NFL, amassing 4,286 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns. His professional experience could help attract recruits eager to learn from someone with a proven career in football.
Cohen, who played under legendary coach Rod Broadway, could bring back the hard-nosed, gritty style of play the Aggies were known for during Broadway's tenure.
Another name gaining traction is Shawn Gibbs, former running backs coach at A&T under Broadway. Gibbs, who coached at A&T from 2011 to 2017, helped develop standout running backs like Tarik Cohen and Marquell Cartwright. In his time at A&T, Gibbs helped the Aggies produce seven first-team All-MEAC running backs in the last eight years. His tenure also saw Cartwright rush for 2,149 yards and 21 touchdowns over his final two seasons, earning the 2017 Celebration Bowl MVP award.
Gibbs has a long history with Broadway, having also served as his running backs coach at North Carolina Central from 2003 to 2006. At NCCU, he helped the Eagles win two consecutive CIAA titles while leading the conference in total offense and rushing offense.
Mia Berry of ESPN’s Andscape reported on X that Gibbs's name is gaming traction amongst former Aggie football players. “I wonder if Shawn Gibbs will get a look as the new A&T head coach,” Berry tweeted. “A former A&T/NFL player told me he would join the coaching staff at NCAT if Gibbs was their head coach.”
Beyond the A&T alumni circle, another potential candidate is Clark Atlanta head coach Teddy Keaton. Under Keaton's leadership, the Panthers posted a 7-3-1 record in 2023, finishing 6-2 in the conference. His success in just one season at Clark Atlanta has sparked interest, with many seeing him as a rising star in the HBCU coaching ranks.
As demonstrated by South Carolina State head coach Chennis Berry, who brought his Division II players from Benedict College to the FCS level and led the Bulldogs to a 5-0 record in the MEAC and a 9-2 overall mark in his first year, Keaton could achieve similar success.
Before his time at Clark Atlanta, Keaton served as head coach and quarterbacks coach at Allen University from 2018 to 2023. He led the Yellow Jackets to their best winning percentage since the program’s resurgence, posting a 7-3 record in 2023. His offense ranked among the best in the conference, averaging 454.9 yards per game, with a standout passing attack that led the league with 322 yards per game.
Keaton also mentored quarterback David Wright, who was named the 2024 and 2023 SIAC Player of the Year and led the conference in passing yards and total touchdowns. With an overall coaching record of 70-51, Keaton brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success. With him and Wright in his final year of eligibility remaining, they could bring a new experience to Aggieland.
As the Aggies begin their search for a new head coach, the program is looking for a leader who can bring back the championship tradition that North Carolina A&T fans have come to expect while keeping tradition at the forefront.
