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2016 Will Be Talley's Final Season As Villanova Head Coach

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The 2016 season will be Andy Talley's 32nd as the head football coach at Villanova University.

It will also be his last. Talley has announced he will retire following the 2016 campaign. His longtime assistant coach Mark Ferrante will then take over the program.

Talley, one of the sport's true gentlemen, has been the only head coach the Wildcats have had since they brought the football program back in the mid-80's after a four year hiatus. He has done an incredible job with the Wildcats, winning 221 games in his first 31 seasons and firmly entrenching Villanova as an FCS power.

"Well, I mean that was the goal," Talley tells KYW Newsradio. "Unfortunately, it took me 25 years to win the national championship. I think we put the program at the national level way before that. That was the goal and the big question mark was how far Villanova wanted to go with it in terms of support and they've been superb. We've had great support from top to bottom. It's been a terrific run. I've enjoyed every second of it."

Listen to the entire interview with Villanova's Andy Talley:

That national championship for Villanova came in 2009. In addition to the wins, Talley has developed some top notch talent, including former Eagles star running Brian Westbrook and longtime Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Brian Finneran.

Now prior to coming to Villanova, Talley was the head coach at St. Lawrence University in New York and one of his players there was Mark Ferrante. Talley is excited for Ferrante to be the one who takes over for him.

"Mark's been here 29 years, so he knows the drill at Villanova," Talley says. "He knows the kind of student athlete that we're looking for. He understands the big picture. He is very, very complimentary with our alumni and he is very popular amongst the football team. So he's a guy who has paid his dues. He really understands the complete chemistry of this place. It couldn't be a better hire. He's going to be immensely successful."

Talley is hoping his final season as head coach is really something special.

"The ceiling is high for us," Talley says. "We'd like to get back into the playoffs and make a run at it. So I think all is well at Villanova and we're just going to keep on 'tapping the rock' as we say."

You can follow Matt on twitter @mattleonkyw.

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