A new hire is expected soon after Florida A&M University fired its head football coach Monday. James Colzie III, finished the season 5-7. In his tenure as head coach, Colzie finished 12-12 overall.
After winning the HBCU National Championship just two years ago, Florida A&M University's football team found itself with a losing record this year, finishing 5-7 in the regular season following a loss on Nov. 29 to Mississippi Valley State University. At just 4-4 in conference play, the Rattlers came fourth in their division, falling short of predictions for a second-place finish. They finished a disappointing 2-3 at home despite once boasting the second-longest active home streak in the Football Championship Subdivision (22 straight). To top it all off, FAMU lost to in-state rival Bethune-Cookman University in the 2025 Florida Blue Florida Classic. So how did it get to this point?
The Rattlers struggles this season can largely be attributed to their defense, ranking tenth in the conference overall. The loss of defensive back Kendall Bohler to the NFL and defensive linemen Gentle Hunt and James Ash to the transfer portal left big holes in the roster for FAMU to fill. All received Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) honors and were leaders on the team. Seniors like linebacker Nay'Ron Jenkins attempted to pick up the slack, but to no avail. Under first-year defensive coordinator Kenwick Thomson, FAMU's defense allowed 33.8 points per game with 53 touchdowns, a far cry from their once-feared "Dark-Cloud Defense".
Offensively, the Rattlers also found difficulty. Following the departure of Daniel Jones, FAMU was in desperate need of a quarterback. After fierce competition in the spring, RJ Johnson III took the helm to open the season. Through his first three starts, Johnson had 52 completions on 82 attempts (63 percent) for 677 yards and four touchdowns. By FAMU's homecoming win against Alcorn State, Johnson had settled in and even received SWAC co-offensive player of the week in the school's win against Alabama A&M. The Rattlers finished seventh in the conference in total offense and averaged a little over 24 points per game.
Overall, detractors say the Rattlers were undisciplined this season, averaging almost 62 yards a game in penalties, which cost them in their opening loss to Howard University and Bethune-Cookman University.
"I feel for the guys, you know what I mean?" Colzie said in a press conference following FAMU's loss to Bethune-Cookman University. [It has] been a little bit of an up and down season, of course, as we know. Guys really put all they could into this game."
Following the news of Colzie's release, quarterbacks RJ Johnson III and Jett Peddy, and wide receiver Kinari Wilcher, have all entered the transfer portal. Offensive Coordinator Henry Burris will act as interim head coach.