When Kirby Cannon was hired as Austin Peay’s 18th head coach in March 2013, he brought a deserved-reputation as a program builder.
Now in his third season, Cannon has two recruiting classes under his belt, including a 2015 class brought in to bolster a depleted offensive line, Cannon has elevated the talent level at Austin Peay. Results on the field are expected to follow as the Govs build on the momentum of the reopening of Governors Stadium and snapping the nation’s longest losing streak last season.
Cannon’s APSU arrival came after the Alexandria, Mo., native spent three seasons as secondary coach at Central Michigan, an FBS school, and was part of a rebuilding process that culminated in December 2012 with the Chippewas defeating Western Kentucky-their fourth straight win-in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit.
That victory concluded a stay for Cannon in Mt. Pleasant that came after fulfilling a longtime promise of working with former coaching cohort, Don Enos. Several members of that staff once coached together at Northern Michigan in the mid-1990s and vowed to come together if one was able to land a major college coaching position. Enos took over as Central Michigan head coach in 2010.
APSU’s coach sees similarities between APSU and his first head-coaching stop Missouri S&T program (formerly known as Missouri-Rolla). He took over a Miners program in 1999 that had won seven games over the previous four seasons. The rebuilding effort took patience at the engineering school but the Miners recorded winning seasons in three of his last five seasons, including a 7-4 2005 record, marking the program’s first winning campaign since 1985.
Cannon was named Independent Football Alliance Coach of the Year in 2005 – a season that included a decisive victory against the Governors in Clarksville. When the Miners came back with a 6-5 2006 record, including another victory against the Govs, it completed the first back-to-back winning seasons for the program since 1984-85.
Two seasons after Missouri S&T became a founding member of the Great Lakes Football Conference Cannon was named GLFC Coach of the Year in 2008 after leading the Miners a 7-4 overall mark and their first conference title since 1983.
While there, Cannon coached the program’s first defensive back to earn All Mid-America Athletic Conference honors in more than a decade.
He also coached three players that earned Academic All-America honors along with 27 who earned academic all-district.
“Kirby has the reputation of building programs, both as a head coach and assistant throughout his career,” then-APSU Athletics Director Dave Loos said. “More recently he did so as head coach at Rolla (Missouri S&T), where they had not had a winning team in years before he arrived, and then was part of a Central Michigan program the last three years that had to rebuild, with it ending with them gaining a bowl bid. Kirby understands how to build a program and will be able to build upon our existing foundation.
“He also has also has the reputation of being a man of great character. We look forward to him leading our football program.”
The 2005 squad owned a quarterback who passed for 499 yards against the Governors and who went on to set several Miners records. The 2006 S&T club led Division II in passing and defeated three teams, including the Governors, from the NCAA 1-AA ranks. The 2008 team that won the GLFC led the league in total offense and ranked 12th nationally, averaging 449.5 yards per game. The Miners also ranked 13th nationally in scoring in 2008, averaging 37.1 points per game.
“Kirby has a proven track record of not being married to a system, he is someone who will coach to the talent he has,” Loos said. “When we saw Rolla here (2005), he spread the field because he had a quarterback who could really throw the football. He also has had teams that have been able to run the football quite well.”
Cannon is a 1981 graduate of Missouri State, with a bachelor’s of science degree in physical education, Cannon played quarterback for the Bears but starred on the mound in baseball, being inducted into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
But Cannon’s coaching career all has been on the gridiron. After spending 1983-84 in the high school ranks (Ozark High School) in southwest Missouri, he began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Iowa State in 1983. He was at Iowa State two seasons before being named defensive coordinator at North Central College (Ill.) in 1985. He also coached the defensive backs at North Central from 1985-88.
Cannon moved to Northeast Missouri (now Truman State) in 1989, where he served as the defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator for four seasons. The duties of defensive coordinator were added for the 1993 and 1994 campaigns.. Northeast Missouri qualified for three Division II playoffs appearances during his six seasons on staff.
In 1995, Cannon was named assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Northern Michigan. He worked directly with the defensive backs both seasons, and he served on the same staff as Enos in 1996. Northern Michigan finished 7-3 in both 1995 and 1996.
Cannon spent the 1997-98 seasons coaching defensive backs at Western Illinois. He helped lead the program to back-to-back Gateway Conference championships and a berth in the 1998 Division I-AA national semifinals. Western Illinois finished both the 1997 and 1998 seasons ranked in the top three nationally in the Division I-AA polls. From there, he returned to his home state to gain his first college head coaching position in Rolla.
Cannon and his wife, Lisa, are the parents of one son, Josh.
