Clarion Athletics

Raymond Monica, a two-time American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Region 1 Coach of the Year and two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Coach of the Year with more than 30 years of experience at the college level, became the 14th coach in Golden Eagle history on Feb. 17, 2022. He enters his fourth season at the helm of the program in 2025. 

The Golden Eagles got off to a quick start in 2025, winning their first two games - Thursday night clashes against Millersville and Lincoln - and later earned a home win against Edinboro, marking the first time they'd beaten Edinboro at home since 2000. It was alsot the first time the Golden Eagles beat the Fighting Scots in back-to-back games since the 1997-98 seasons. Clarion boasted five all-conference selections at the end of the year, including First Team All-PSAC West picks Jake Tarburton and Trevon Tate. Tarburton was a nominee for the Gene Upshaw Award, given annually to the best lineman in Division II, while Tate had one of the best receiving seasons in program history to earn All-America Honorable Mention honors. 

Monica's team continued to show growth in 2023, opening the season with a convincing win on the road against Lincoln. The team battled through adversity throughout the year, with the high point of the season coming in a road win against Edinboro. The Golden Eagles beat the Fighting Scots for the first time since the 2015 season and at Sox-Harrison Stadium for the first time since 2009. Three Golden Eagles - Jake Tarburton, Griffin Buzzell and Corahn Alleyne - earned all-conference honors at the conclusion of the season, while another four earned CSC Academic All-District laurels.

In 2022, Monica took over a Golden Eagle team that had gone winless in the previous season and started the rebuilding process, leading them to a three-win improvement and better metrics across the board. He won his first game as the Golden Eagles' head coach on Sept. 17 when Clarion routed Lock Haven in a 44-7 victory. Clarion later won back-to-back road games against Seton Hill and Mercyhurst, with the latter coming on a last-second field goal by Second Team All-PSAC West kicker Jarrett Esposito. The Golden Eagles finished the year with a winning record on the road for the first time since 2010.

In addition to Esposito, running back Khalil Owens also earned all-conference honors, taking home Second Team All-PSAC West laurels. Four Golden Eagles were honored as College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District selections.
 
Before coming to Clarion, Monica was an assistant coach at Southeastern Louisiana from 2019-21, including a one-year stint as the defensive coordinator in 2021. The Lions made the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs in 2019 and 2021, winning their first round game in both of those seasons. In 2021, the Lions finished 15th in the final FCS rankings of the year. Freshman defensive back Zy Alexander earned a trio of All-American honors, including Third Team Associated Press (AP) All-America, First Team Phil Steele Freshman All-America and Second Team Stats Perform FCS All-America. First Team All-Southland Conference honors when he ranked sixth in the eighth in the nation with six interceptions, to go with 39 tackles, seven pass break-ups and a forced fumble.
 
In 2019, Monica helped the Lions rank in the top 10 nationally in both tackles for loss (8th) and sacks (9th). Under his direction, senior Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 CFL Draft, was named All-Louisiana and All-Southland Conference, while also becoming the first player in program history to earn Academic All-America honors. Sophomore Josh Carr Jr. also was named to HERO Sports Sophomore All-America team.
 
Before going to Southeastern Louisiana, Monica spent six seasons as the head coach at Arkansas Tech, where the team made two postseason appearances. In 2015 the Wonder Boys won the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl over Eastern New Mexico, just the second postseason off-campus win in school history. In 2017 Ty Reasnor was voted the CoSIDA Division II Academic All-American of the Year in Football.
 
Where Golden Eagle fans may best recognize Monica, though, would be his tenure as Kutztown's head football coach from 2006-12. He turned the Golden Bears into one of the leading programs in the conference, culminating with back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II Super Region One playoffs. In 2010 Monica earned PSAC East and AFCA Region 1 Coach of the Year honors after leading the Golden Bears to then-school records in wins (10), conference victories (6), points scored (466) and most consecutive wins to start a season (9). The Golden Bears peaked at 13th in the AFCA rankings, the highest in program history.
 
The encore performance was even better. Monica again won PSAC East and AFCA Region 1 Coach of the Year honors as Kutztown won both the East division and the conference championship, defeating Slippery Rock 21-14 at home for the title. The Golden Bears again set a number of program records, including total wins in a season (11), rushing yards (2,576), total offense (6,048) overall touchdowns (68) and points scored (487). Of those records, the first three still stand as the best in Kutztown history. The team peaked at sixth in the AFCA Top 25 poll and won their first Division II playoff game in the 96-year history of the program, beating Concord in the opening round.
 
Monica earned his first shot at being a head coach after a distinguished tenure at Temple from 1997-2005. Serving as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach in those years, Monica helped the Owls rank among the nation's best on defense, including 19th in total defense during the 2001 season and 18th in 2002. That made Temple one of only eight schools to finish in the top-20 in total defense in both of those years. Monica won the American Football Foundation (AFF) Mike Campbell Top Assistant Coach award in 2005. In Sports Illustrated's 2003 College Football Preview, Monica was lauded as being "the best in the nation at getting ordinary players to do extraordinary things." Among his charges included 2002 Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year Dan Klecko, as well as fellow future NFL players in Rian Wallace, Raheem Brock, Russell Newman and Calvin Wilkinson.
 
Monica was a fixture on the staff at North Alabama from 1989-1997, working his way up from student assistant to a full assistant and the team's recruiting coordinator. The team won three consecutive Division II national championships from 1993-95, making them the first school to win three straight national championships in scholarship football. In his final year North Alabama beat Louisiana-Lafayette, which was only the second time that a Division II school had beaten a Division I program.
 
Monica earned his associate's degree from Northeast Mississippi Community College in 1987, followed by his Bachelor of Science degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from North Alabama in 1990. He and his wife Linda have three children – Ray, Lindsey and Austin.


Head Coach Raymond Monica - Year by Year