Rank That Coach! » Firings

Karl Dorrell Fired at UCLA

Sean — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:55:03 +0000

After an up and down season that saw his Bruins beat ranked Cal and Oregon teams, but lose to Utah and Notre Dame, UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was fired today.

Dorrell was 35-27 in his five seasons at UCLA and led the Bruins to a bowl appearance in each season. He is also credited with cleaning up a program that had been plagued with off-the-field problems. Don’t feel too bad for him though. He was under contract through 2011, so he’ll get a buyout worth almost $2 million. He hasn’t decided whether or not he’ll coach the Bruins in the Las Vegas Bowl. If not defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker will take over.

Now that Dorrell’s officially out UCLA has turned to finding a replacement. According to the LA Times the leading candidates are Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach (83rd in our rankings), Boise State head coach Chris Peterson (26th in our rankings), and former 49ers and Lions head coach Steve Mariucci.

Lubick Refuses to Retire So Colorado State Fires Him

Sean — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:26:30 +0000

They asked him to step down, but he said “no”. Lubick’s Rams only went 3-9 this season, but he wanted a chance to bring them back to the level he had helped them grow accustomed to. The Colorado State administration wanted to go a different direction however, so they fired head coach Sonny Lubick after 17 years of service.

Lubick is a legend in Fort Collins, Colorado. He led the Rams to a 129-88 record in his tenure and coached the team to 9 bowl games. How popular is he? The team plays in Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. That’s right, the school just fired the guy they named the field after. Good job CSU!

Georgia Tech Fires Gailey

Sean — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:29:31 +0000

In a move that just goes to show you better win your rivalry games, Georgia Tech fired coach Chan Gailey after six season, and six losses to the Georgia Bulldogs. Athletic director Dan Radakovich basically called Gailey boring when he said “As far as Xs and Os, Chan is a very good coach. But there’s more to it now. College football is more than just Xs and Os, especially in the competitive market where we are.”

Now that’s a new one. The AD admitted the guy’s a good coach. The coach has a good, though not great, record. The team played for a conference title the previous year. And the guy gets fired for being boring.

Gailey ranked #60 in our latest rankings with a 123.77.

Read the full story at ESPN.

Roof Sacked at Duke

Sean — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:01:46 +0000

Ted Roof finally found out that he’s not Steve Spurrier. Unlike the Old Ball Coach Roof wasn’t able to turn the Blue Devils into a program to reckon with, going 6-45 in his tenure with the team. Ouch.

Included in that 6-45 record are 25 consecutive ACC losses, a 22 game overall losing streak, and no more than 2 wins in any of his five plus years with the team. That’s bad.

Our rankings certainly showed he deserved to be fired. He placed a dismal #116 with -256.20. No word on who the likely candidates to ~~throw away their careers~~ replace him are.

Ole Miss Cans Orgeron

Sean — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:49:03 +0000

Apparently going winless in the SEC is a bad thing. Ole Miss fired coach Ed Orgeron today, hot on the heels of blowing a lead and losing to their arch-rival Mississippi State in yesterday’s Egg Bowl. Orgeron “led” the Rebels to a 3-9 record this year, but crushingly went 0-8 in the SEC. Ouch.

In our preliminary rankings Orgeron comes in 105th with -3.48 points, one notch below former Nebraska coach Bill Callahan. Yes, you read that right, -3.48. Don’t worry, it will all make sense when we post the rankings…

It’s Official: Callahan Fired at Nebraska

Sean — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:39:43 +0000

Nebraska interim athletic director Tom Osbourne finally pulled the trigger and fired coach Bill Callahan, the day after the Huskers blew a lead and lost 65-51 to Colorado. The loss sunk Nebraska’s record to 5-7 and assured that they won’t get a bowl invitation.

This move came as a surprise to nobody. There’s some good news for Callahan though. Because he was still under contract through 2011, the Huskers have to pay him $3.1 not to coach. Poor guy.

For the record, we’re still putting together all the rankings, but our latest run had Callahan ranked 104th with 38.12 points. So it seems like Nebraska did the right thing here. Stay tuned for all the rankings.

Baylor Officially Fires Morriss

Sean — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:03:04 +0000

Bye bye, Guy. Baylor officially fired him Sunday, proving the rumors of his demise to be true. Former Baylor and Chicago Bears linebacker Mike Singletary is the leading candidate to replace him. Though Houston Nutt’s name has been mentioned too, now that it looks like he’ll be available shortly…

Guy Morriss Done at Baylor?

Sean — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:12:59 +0000

The Houston Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News are reporting that Baylor coach Guy Morriss won’t be back in Waco for the final year of his contract. He will coach the Bears’ two remaining games (against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State).

Morriss has compiled a 18-58 record at Baylor since joining the school in 2003. He has led the Bears to upset victories over Colorado and Texas A&M, but this year’s three wins have come against Rice, Texas State, and Buffalo. To his credit he has elevated Baylor from the Duke of the Big 12 to the Vanderbilt of the Big 12: a bad team that can occasionally surprise someone.

SEC fans will remember Morriss as the Kentucky coach who got the premature Gatorade bath during the Bluegrass Miracle game against LSU (see the video here).

Former Baylor linebacker Mike Singletary is the leading candidate to replace Morriss. Singletary has been an assistant coach with Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49rs since finishing his Hall of Fame playing career with the Bears. He interviewed for the Baylor job before Morriss was hired, but didn’t get it because of his lack of coaching experience.

SMU’s Bennett the First to Go

Sean — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 02:47:51 +0000

SMU’s Phil Bennett has become the first college coach of the year to get fired. After six years on the job he leaves behind a 1-7 team. Sorry Phil.
The full story at ESPN.com