MISSOULA — Bobby Hauck, the University of Montana alumnus who just finished his 14th season leading the Grizzlies football program, announced his retirement Wednesday in a surprise move.

The Big Timber native appeared at a press conference called for 10 a.m. in the West Auxiliary Gym at the Adams Center, alongside Montana athletic director Kent Haslam. 

There, Hauck said the complications that have risen out of the NCAA transfer portal and “Name, Image and Likeness" (NIL) rulings took their toll. 

“Dealing with agents and the transient nature of this and the lack of forward thinking by young people — which has never been a strong suit of young people, for centuries, for young people,” he began. “But now they’ve got adults pulling and pushing them in different directions, and I kind of got tired of dealing with all of that.” 

It was also announced that receivers coach Bobby Kennedy, who joined the program last summer, will take over as head coach. In theory, that leaves the rest of the current staff, including offensive coordinator Brent Pease and co-defensive coordinators Tim Hauck and Roger Cooper, in place. 

“We needed to keep the team together; we needed this stability,” Haslam said. “We felt like coach Kennedy would be the best one to take the reins and lead the team, keep some of the other key coaches in the positions that they are in.” 

Hauck compiled a record of 151-43 in two seven-season stints with the Grizzlies, from 2003-09 and 2018-25. In between he spent four seasons leading UNLV; he was associate head coach at San Diego State when he was rehired by Haslam in 2018. His career coaching record stands at 166-92. 

Hauck led Montana to four FCS title games (2004, 2008-09 and 2023) though they lost all four. The Griz piled up 20 postseason wins during his tenure along with eight Big Sky championships; he is the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history, and his 166 overall wins are eighth most among Division I coaches. 

“Gratitude is to this guy to my left,” Haslam said Wednesday. “Who emphasized character, discipline, focus and what it means to represent the state.” 

The timing — Wednesday is the late signing day for NCAA football — is surprising.  

“The first I heard of this was 8 o’clock last night,” Haslam said. “That’s one of the things I said to coach Hauck: ‘Really, like, right now?’” 

Kennedy, who began his career as a graduate assistant at Illinois in 1990, will lead the press conference announcing the complete signing class. The press conference was scheduled for Wednesday, but was postponed. 

“Certainly, he’s had a lot of success and worked for a lot of really great coaches,” Haslam said. “I’m grateful that Bobby brought him here. Looking at the way the staff is constructed right now, he seemed the obvious choice to lead.” 

Kennedy won’t have the “interim” tag, Haslam said. 

“I joke that we’re all interims, but he is our head coach,” Haslam said. “We’ll evaluate where we’re at the end of 2026.” 

Kennedy’s coaching resume is long and impressive, including a national championship as the Texas Longhorns’ receivers coach in 2008. He overlapped with Hauck and Ty Gregorak on Rick Neuheisel’s staff in 2002; he left for Texas in 2004, a year after Hauck took the reins at Montana for the first time (and brought Gregorak with him). Kennedy coached in 17 bowl games, including two BCS title games with Texas. 

“I can tell you this: He’s a danged good football coach,” Gregorak, who spent time as defensive coordinator at both UM and MSU, told montanasports.com. 

Hauck’s last team at UM went 13-2, with both losses coming to in-state rival Montana State, including the FCS semifinals. He leaves the program in better shape than when he began his second stint, with the 2023 Big Sky title being the high point. 

He reiterated what he said after the semifinal loss: That he loved his team. 

“Our team meeting was terrific,” he said. “Like I said at the end of the season, I love them; I think they love me. We have a brotherhood in this program and I’m part of that. 

“They’ll be excited to get going. They didn’t miss their lift this morning; nothing changed.” 

Hauck, who is 62, was asked how he hoped to be remembered. 

“Hey, that guy did a good job there,” he said. “He cared about his players, cared about the university and the people he worked with.”