Kinard had offers to become a head coach in the NFL for the Boston Patriots and New York Giants, but opted to stay at Ole Miss.  Kinard also served as acting head coach at Ole Miss for the last half of the 1970 season after Vaught suffered a heart attack on October 20. In six games under Kinard, the 1970 Rebels won three games and lost three, including losses to rivals Mississippi State and LSU and to Auburn in the 1971 Gator Bowl. However, Ole Miss credits the entire 1970 season to Vaught  In January 1971, Ole Miss hired Kinard as its athletic director and his younger brother Billy Kinard as its head football coach. In 1971, the Kinards led the 1971 Ole Miss team to a 10–2 record and a No. 15 ranking in the final AP Poll. However, the team's fortunes declined in 1972 with a 5–5 record. In September 1973, after Ole Miss lost two of the first three games, the university fired Billy Kinard as head coach and relieved Bruiser of his duties as athletic director. Bruiser remained employed by Ole Miss and was appointed assistant dean of student personnel in June 1974. He held that position until he retired in 1978. Kinard married Mildred Frances "Midge" Kirk (1915–2006) in 1933 while they were seniors in high school. They had two sons, Frank Jr. and John. In 1982, Kinard and his wife moved from Oxford, Mississippi, to Jackson, Mississippi, where they lived until Kinard's death. Kinard suffered from Alzheimer's disease that eventually resulted in the near total loss of his memory. He died in 1985 at age 70 at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Jackson. He was buried at Lakewood Memorial Park in Jackson.