University of Findlay loses its Keys — to Ohio State

The University of Findlay football team's spring game has come and gone. And so has its head coach, Rob Keys. It was announced Wednesday afternoon that he has resigned as Findlay's head coach to take a job as a special teams analyst for Ryan Day and Ohio State. Oilers offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Kory Allen will serve as the team's interim head coach. During his time at Findlay, Keys amassed a 75-42 record in his 11 seasons and took the Oilers to a pair of D-II playoff appearances (2017, 2021) as well the school's first NCAA playoff win against Shepherd (29-17 in 2017). A season ago, he led Findlay to its first conference title of any kind since 1997, when his team knocked off Tiffin, 26-21, in the de facto Great Midwestern Athletic Conference championship. That's just a microcosm of what he's done for Findlay because he changed the program for the better. Hired on Dec. 16, 2010, Keys found success very quickly. In the season before Keys' arrival, the Oilers won just one game. The next season, Keys immediately found success with Findlay, winning six. Over the next 11 years, the Oilers had just one losing season (5-6 in 2014), ten players who achieved NCAA Division II All-American honors and 179 athletes earned all-conference recognition. "I appreciate all of the players and staff that allowed us to have such great success over the past 11 seasons here at Findlay," Keys said Wednesday. "I feel that the program is in a better position today than it was the day I was hired. It's hard to put into words what has been accomplished over the past 11 years and that could not have been done without everyone directly and indirectly involved with the program. " He was named the 2021 American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II Region 3 Coach of the Year as well as the 2021 G-MAC Coach of the Year. "I'm very excited for my good friend and long-time head coach, Rob Keys," Allen said Wednesday. Allen has been a part of the program for the past 17 seasons, including the entirety of Keys' tenure. "I was very grateful for the opportunity to be on his staff and be a member of the program as one of his assistants for the last 11 years. "He was the right guy for the job at the right time. He's been a head coach, he's been a mentor, he's been a friend and an ally in the world of coaching. It's been an honor to work here and work underneath him." Keys' .641 winning percentage at Findlay is the second-highest in program history, just behind National College Football Hall of Fame head coach Dick Strahm, who finished his career with a 183-64-5 (.736) record and four National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championships. "Rob has done an incredible job of during his time here and has our football program competing at a championship level," Vice President of Student Affairs and Director of Athletics, Brandi Laurita said. "His passion, energy, and love for the orange and black will be missed. At the same time, we want to wish him luck as he starts a new chapter of his life at Ohio State." Before leading the way for UF, Keys spent time as the Oilers' co-defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator from 2000-04. He also spent time coaching at West Virginia University — his alma mater — Indiana State University, Slippery Rock University, and the University of New Hampshire. "There's no doubt I will miss all the players that have made my time here so special, and I wish them all future success," Keys said. "I'm excited about my new coaching opportunity at Ohio State." And even as his days at UF were coming to an end, his commitment to making the program better did not. "Boy, it's been a crazy last couple of days, so I don't quite remember when. I guess, I knew when I needed to," Allen said about when he found out about Keys' intentions to take the Ohio State job. "But what I do know is that every day that he was on campus all the way up until yesterday, he's done everything he can to make this program better than when he found it." And now, Allen will be tasked to do the same thing as his 'good friend and long-time coach' did for UF as interim coach. "I am humbled, I'm grateful and I'm very appreciative of the administration and their trust in me to lead this program into the summer months and into our fall season coming up," he said. "We've been meeting with the players all day today, so they're excited and so are we to keep moving this program moving forward. "The program is definitely not in shambles, because — like any good coach would — Rob left it in very good shape. I'm certainly thankful for that as is our staff and the players. When we talked with them today, their expectations are to move forward, move ahead and represent the university in a first-class manner as they've done over the last 11 years."