After violating the terms of his contract, coach Kenni Burns has been terminated from his position with the Kent State football team — his last day on the team is April 15.

A letter was sent to Burns April 11, which provided cause for termination written out by Kent State President Todd Diacon.

The letter, a public record accessed by The Kent Stater, states five reasons for the termination of Burns’ contract.

The first point says Burns had a “significant, repetitive and intentional violation” of the team’s P-card, which is used for purchasing goods, supplies and maintenance needs for the team’s operations. The letter did not specify what Burns used the P-card for in his time with Kent State.

The second and third points mentioned how Burns violated Kent State’s conflict of interest policy, the code of conduct policy and Ohio’s ethics laws.

All three pertain in some way to maintaining a professional demeanor, respect and dignity, using university resources for non-approved personal business matters and participating in actions or decisions that involve their own interests.

Further, Burns also acted with “dishonesty in the performance of the duties and responsibilities under the agreement,” according to the letter from Diacon.

The final point in the letter that led to the termination of Burns’ contract includes the participation in acts that would bring the university into “public disrepute, embarrassment, contempt, scandal or ridicule or failure by [Burns] to conventional standards of good citizenship.”

These acts include dishonesty, misrepresentation, fraud or violence that may or may not involve authorities, according to Diacon’s letter.

Again, it was unclear what Burns did specifically that could have brought the university embarrassment, scandal and ridicule.

There were no reasons laid out in the letter that led to the termination of Burns that included issues with the team’s performance.

Still, issues were frequent and visible on the field with Kent State in Burns’ tenure.

Burns went 1-23 in his two years with Kent State while collecting zero wins against a Division I opponent. The Flashes also are enduring a 21-game losing streak between the two seasons, which is the longest in the nation.

This included a winless 0-12 season in 2024 and the lowest ranking in the country on CBS Sports.

Since the letter by Kent State and Diacon did not mention the on-the-field issues as a cause for termination, some may believe the termination was due to the off-the-field problems Burns faced, as his tenure had been mired with controversy.

First, Burns was involved in a nearly $24,000 lawsuit with Kent’s Hometown Bank on Nov. 13, 2024.

The lawsuit detailed Burns spent over the $20,000 limit, and he did not pay his minimum monthly payments. Last season, the coach made $475,000.

Burns also received a default judgment in the case, as he did not respond to the initial complaint or otherwise refute the claim. On Jan. 27, the case officially closed.

Later in the year, Burns was placed on administrative leave with pay, which occurred March 27. At the time of the announcement, no reason was made for the move, but an investigation was underway regarding Burns at that point.

After less than three weeks of investigation, Burns was terminated from his position.

With Burns gone from the team, the leader of Kent State next season will be offensive coordinator Mark Carney.

Carney has been with the Flashes since 2023, initially joining as the tight ends coach. He was then promoted to offensive coordinator before the 2024 season, and he has been promoted once again to interim coach ahead of the 2025 season.

According to an April 11 post on X from the university’s athletics account, Carney will be the coach for the entire duration of the 2025 season.

“Offensive coordinator Mark Carney will serve as interim head football coach with a national search taking place at the conclusion of the 2025 season,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Randale Richmond said in the statement. “At this time, our focus will be to support our student-athletes and provide them the best opportunity to have a positive and competitive experience.”

Last season, the Kent State offense, under the direction of Carney, had its issues. The unit placed near the bottom of the FBS in passing offense (125th out of 133 teams), rushing offense (132nd), scoring offense (133rd) and total offense (133rd).

At the end of next season, Carney could still retain the head coach position for Kent State but popular preference surrounds a potential hire of former Kent State quarterback and Cleveland Browns return specialist Josh Cribbs.

Cribbs said in a radio interview in late March that he was not running for a job that was not open yet (Burns had not been terminated from his position at that time), but he was very much interested in the role.

Regardless, Kent State will move onward with Carney next season, and Burns will likely be without a team come week one.

“My family and I are saddened by the news today,” Burns wrote on an X post after his termination became public on April 11. “We are thankful for the relationships and connections we have made with the players, coaches and staff over the past few years.”

John Hilber is Sports Editor. Contact him at [email protected].