University of Charleston football coach Pat Kirkland will be away from the team on medical leave, the university announced Monday morning, but UC expects the coach to be back on the sideline in the near future.
UC athletic director Bren Stevens said Monday that Kirkland "had a medical issue" Saturday morning and is recovering.
"We hope he'll be back in a short period of time," Stevens said.
In Kirkland's absence, offensive coordinator Paul Johnson will lead the team.
"Pat and I have had conversations over the last couple of years with the staff and he looks at Paul as that No. 2 role," Stevens said. "He has the utmost faith in Paul as a coach."
Charleston visits West Liberty at 7 p.m. Thursday for its next game. Johnson said it won't be hard to keep the team focused against the Hilltoppers while dealing with Kirkland's absence. West Liberty beat Charleston 40-23 last season.
"They beat the dog out of us last year," Johnson said. "So that's our focus. We're trying to get back to West Lib on Thursday night and play a hell of a football game."
Kirkland has been UC's head football coach since 2011. In that time he has amassed a record of 42-27. His 2015 team went 10-2 and earned the first playoff berth in program history. Last season's 3-8 team was just the second to finish under .500 in Kirkland's tenure. The first was his inaugural season, when the Golden Eagles went 5-6.
Charleston is 1-1 this year, losing to West Virginia State and beating Concord.
Johnson said he was honored he was chosen to oversee UC's football team for the near future.
"I think we've got a great football team," Johnson said. "When you're handed the keys to the program and talent is down, you're like, 'Oh man, what am I going to do?' But this team is loaded on the roster. We're great on defense and we've got a good offense that can be explosive.
"If we play team football and play for each other, we'll be fine," he added."
Johnson said there won't be any "win one for the Gipper" speeches before UC visits the Hilltoppers. He doesn't think Kirkland wants it that way.
"He wouldn't want to say, 'You're playing for me,' 'You're doing this for me,' or anything like that," Johnson said. "Coach Kirkland wants us to play ball because we love playing ball and wants us to coach because we love to coach."