Florida Atlantic football’s (2-7, 0-5 AAC) head coach Tom Herman announced on Nov. 10 that the team would be letting go of Roc Bellantoni and Ed Warinner, two assistant coaches. 

The announcement was made following the team’s devastating 49-14 loss to East Carolina University (5-4, 3-2 AAC).  

Bellantoni has served as FAU’s defensive coordinator and linebacker coach since December 2022 and has taken to social media to express his gratitude for the team, saying he “walked out the building with [his] head held high.”

“I have the utmost respect for Roc and I want to thank him for his multiple stints at Florida Atlantic,” said Herman in a press release on Sunday. “But in order to move our program forward and create a new identity on defense, a change was needed.”

Warinner served as the team’s associate head coach and offensive line coach since February 2021.

“When Ed and I met, he expressed his interest in pursuing other opportunities at the end of the year,” said Herman. “We felt mutually it was best to go ahead and start that process now. I appreciate Ed and his contributions to our program and wish him all the best.”

Until new staff are hired, Herman has appointed Brandon Harris as the interim defensive coordinator, Jordan Helm as the interim linebackers coach and Kyle Chung as the interim offensive line coach.

Harris served as the team’s cornerback coach, Helm as a senior defensive analyst, and Chung as an offensive graduate assistant.

Many members of the team expressed their disagreement about the decisions made on behalf of the team and staff via social media. 

The Owls play their next away game at Temple University (2-7, 1-4 AAC) on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 12 p.m. 

Angelina Martell is a contributing sportswriter with the University Press. Email her at [email protected] or reach out on Instagram @angieemartell for information regarding this or other stories.