Kent State University announced Tuesday that former assistant coach and alumni Paul Haynes will take over as head football coach following Darrell Hazell's departuer for Purdue.

Haynes, who played for Kent State 25 years ago, also worked as an assistant coach in 1999 and 2000 before moving on to Ohio State University and then Arkansas before coming back to Kent, according to Kent State Athletics.

Hazell announced this month he would be leaving Kent State for the top football job at Purdue for a reported $2 million salary.

Haynes said during a press conference Tuesday that he planned to let Hazell coach the Golden Flashes during their upcoming Jan. 6 appearance in the GoDaddy.com Bowl against Arkansas State, WKSU reported.

"They’ve done a great job this year," Haynes said, according to WKSU. "They need to finish it out."