Temple Coach Does Fast Turnaround Coach Let Emotions “Do The Talking” When He Announced He Would Quit

Temple University coach Ron Dickerson pledged Sunday night to continue into the next season, retracting the emotional resignation he made a day earlier after the Owls’ 53-52 loss to Pittsburgh.

“For the first time in my professional career, I let my emotions do the talking,” Dickerson said in a statement released Sunday by the university. “After giving further and careful consideration to the situation, I know that I am as committed as ever to the success of our players, and to a winning Temple University football program.

“I want to make it perfectly clear that I have never been a quitter, and I’m not going to start now.

In a telephone interview later, Dickerson said, “I am human and I made a mistake - we’ve come too far to take a step backwards. I don’t want to do anything to disrupt the progress we’ve made here.”

Despite retracting his resignation, the coach said he still regretted his fourth-quarter decision Saturday to go with a fourth-and-1 gamble that allowed Pitt to return with the winning touchdown with 58 seconds left in the game. The loss left Temple 1-4.

Athletic Director Dave O’Brien said that, after speaking with Dickerson, he believed that the coach was experiencing an “emotional and human reaction to a very tough and disappointing loss.”

“After speaking with coach today, I am confident that he remains totally committed to the program, wants to continue leading our football team and will be an effective leader,” O’Brien said.

At Saturday’s press conference, Dickerson tearfully faulted himself for the loss.