By Mike Huesmann
This list is a departure for me, and in thought for many of us. We expect results, we expect wins, we expect them all now. Having patience and thinking someone might have gotten fired too soon rarely comes into our mind, but as in all jobs, it happens at the wrong time and too soon for some people.
Most of these guys had a bad season that got them fired, but their time before that led me to make arguments for all five. There certainly is context here and trends have to be considered, but to what degree brings the debate. Here are five coaches I argue were fired unjustly or too quickly.
Note- I did not include anyone fired for a scandal-related issue. I won’t profess to have inside details on those, so it becomes a list of purely on-field performance and program trends.
Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina
Record: 42-34 in Six Seasons
Ruffin McNeill was fired by ECU in 2015 and nine years later it still makes no sense to me. He had two losing seasons in six, both 5-7 records. His teams played salty defense and were on the right track. The Pirates have had only two winning seasons since he was fired, though I tried not to consider post-firing success in this list. McNeil went to four bowl games in his time at ECU. He’s held a series of assistant jobs at top schools since then, currently being at NC State, while ECU just hasn’t gotten it right since he was let go. In short, he is the inspiration for the list.
https://twitter.com/JacobScottDavis/status/1572777528473055234
Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee
Record: 113-111 in 18 Seasons
The most recent firing on the list, Rick Stockstill was let go this offseason. He took over a downtrodden program decades ago and brought consistency and relevance. This is a tough place to win, and he did an admirable job in his 18 years. 2023 was poor, going 4-8, but they had winning seasons and bowl appearances the two previous seasons. He made 10 bowl appearances in his 18 years. This program would be mired in struggle and irrelevance if not for him.
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I did like the hiring of Mason as his replacement, but I felt it shouldn’t have come to that. Stockstill is now on staff at Florida State.
https://twitter.com/Noles247/status/1754977013583020096
Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
Record: 67-26 in Eight Seasons
Things snowballed quickly and ended fast for Chryst in his final year for the Badgers. They won the opener, lost at home in a defensive battle to Washington State, won a non-conference game, then badly lost to Ohio State and Illinois and it was over. For a guy with four double-digit win seasons coming off of a nine-win season, it seemed unceremonious to say the least. The team had lost its juice and was struggling that year, but for a man who’d been in Madison so long, the exit could have been handled better.
Nick Rolovich, Washington State
Record: 5-6 in Two Seasons
Whatever stance you took on Rolovich’s public dismissal, I think we should all agree that government bureaucrats shouldn’t be passing legislation dictating the hiring and firing of college football coaches. I don’t trust these people to fix potholes and deliver mail, let alone run a team in the public eye and make million-dollar decisions.
Rolovich was fired seven games through the 2021 season for not having the COVID-19 vaccine. The State of Washington made it mandatory for all public workers to get the vaccine, but he refused, and his religious exemption was denied. To me, his decision in this matter is immaterial, and those forcing him to make said decision shouldn’t have the power to do so.
https://twitter.com/Avionp2418/status/1702498588851306634
Dan Mullen, Florida
Record: 34-15 in Four Seasons
Things went bad his last year at Florida, but 5-6 isn’t that bad. It was his only season, in four, where they didn’t win eight games, and in two of those they won double-digit games. In 2020, Mullen won the SEC East and was a thrown shoe away from going into the conference title game with a CFP spot on the line. Less than 12 months later he was fired.
We all saw and know his faults, but looking at this objectively the end might have been unfairly abrupt to him. Things have not gotten better since he left Gainesville.
