MIDSEASON firings are starting to unfold in college football.
Rice has announced the firing of its head coach Mike Bloomgren.
Rice has fired its head coach mid season[/caption]
Mike Bloomgren coached Rice for seven seasons[/caption]
Rice has clinched its second losing season in a row, and made the decision to fire Bloomgren after back-to-back losses.
“As I evaluated our program and compared our current and desired trajectory, I determined new leadership is necessary to guide us into the future,” Rice athletic director Tommy McClelland said in a statement.
Associate head coach and special teams coordinator Pete Alamar will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the year.
Rice will be conducting a national search for a new head coach following the completion of the season.
Bloomgren spent seven years as the head coach of Rice and found little success with the team.
He put together a 24-52 record and never won more than six games in a season.
Rice made two bowl games under Bloomgren and didn’t win either of them.
Bloomgren is the second head coach to be fired this season, as ECU coach Mike Houston was let go after five years with the team.
He also only made two bowl games in his time with the school and had ECU at 3-4 this season.
Houston’s total record with ECU was 27-38.
“After a comprehensive evaluation of our football program, I informed Mike Houston this morning that we are making a change in leadership,” ECU athletic director Jon Gilbert said in a statement.
“This was a very difficult decision. Mike has led our program the last five-plus seasons with tremendous class and has positively impacted so many student-athletes.
“After earning back-to-back bowl invitations, we looked poised for continued success.”
Bloomgren and Houston won’t be the only coaches fired this season. Many struggling programs will also look for a change in leadership.
Mike Locksley, head coach at Maryland, could find himself without a job this offseason.
College football top 25 rankings
BELOW are the top 25 rankings of college football’s best programs for Week 8
- Oregon (8-0)
- Georgia (6-1)
- Penn State (7-0)
- Ohio State (6-1)
- Miami (8-0)
- Texas (7-1)
- Tennessee (6-1)
- Notre Dame (7-1)
- BYU (8-0)
- Texas A&M (7-1)
- Clemson (6-1)
- Iowa State (7-0)
- Indiana (8-0)
- Alabama (6-2)
- Boise State (6-1)
- LSU (6-2)
- Kansas State (7-1)
- Pittsburgh (7-0)
- Ole Miss (6-2)
- SMU (7-1)
- Army (7-0)
- Washington State (7-1)
- Colorado (6-2)
- Illinois (6-2)
- Missouri (6-2)
He is 33-37 as the team’s head coach and has the team at 4-4 on the season, but 1-4 in conference.
They have a tough schedule ahead and are at risk of missing out on a bowl game.
Brent Venables of Oklahoma could also find his way out of a job in a few weeks.
Oklahoma just moved to the SEC and look overwhelmed in the new conference.
Like Maryland, they are 4-4 but are 1-4 in conference.
Rice only made two bowl games under Bloomgren and lost both of them[/caption]
