Kennan's coaching career began at his alma mater La Verne in 1966. After a two-year head coaching stint at Garden Grove High School, he resumed his collegiate coaching career at Colorado in 1969 and then served as the offensive coordinator at UNLV (1973–75) and Southern Methodist (1976–78). He was named head coach at Lamar University in 1979, where he coached the Cardinals for three years. In December 2011, Kennan succeeded Mike Santiago as the head football coach at the University of the Incarnate Word.