Spurrier Walks - O'Leary Quits as AD - Sark is Canned
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 7:59 pm
What a day for college coaches.
Earlier it was announce the USC Head Coach Steve Sarkisian had taken a medical leave of absence -- USC Trojans athletic director Pat Haden announced Monday that head football coach Steve Sarkisian has been fired.
Haden's official statement:
"After careful consideration of what is in the best interest of the university and our student-athletes, I have made the decision to terminate Steve Sarkisian, effective immediately.
I want to thank Clay Helton for stepping into the interim head coach role, and I want to add how proud I am of our coaching staff and players and the way they are responding to this difficult situation.
Through all of this we remain concerned for Steve and hope that it will give him the opportunity to focus on his personal well-being."
A source close to Sarkisian says: " "Steve Sarkisian is aware of the termination and is deeply disappointed, but right now his #1 priority is getting himself well. To that end, he has checked himself into a residential treatment facility. He's grateful for all the support that will help him get through this difficult time."
The specific nature of Sarkisian's issues hasn't been officially revealed, the Los Angeles Times' Nathan Fenno and Lindsey Thiry compiled a report Monday that outlined his alleged use of alcohol during his previous head coaching stint at Washington.
I had a feeling the USC guard wanted to get him out anyway. I'm guessing they used this as their opportunity, though, this is just my speculation of course.
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Spurrier quitting midseason is more of a surprise than his leaving in general. I suppose, sometimes you have to know when to say when.
His teams have been decent these past few years, but he can never quite get over that hump. This season, his team looks a little lost, and I'm willing to bet he knows he's the reason for it. He just doesn't seem to have fire that once drove him, and the team is responding to that dissonance -- it's hard to be a winner when you do not have the fervor that once drove you to success.
Coincidentally, Spurrier came out to clarify; "It's a resignation, not a retirement".
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George O’Leary is going to step down as Central Florida's interim AD but will continue coaching.
To some, this might come as a bit of a surprise, because O'Leary took the Iterim AD position last year following the departure of Todd Stansbury.
O'Leary was to maintain the interim AD title through December, at which time the university would evaluate his performance and make a decision on his future as AD -- It was O’Leary's preference to step down as head coach so he could take on the AD job on a full-time basis.
A stirring turn of events to say the least, as the UCF Knights are presently 0-6; are far cry from their Fiesta Bowl win in the post 2013 season, over the Baylor Bears.
Clearly O'Leary is incapable of juggling both, the AD & Head Football Coaching Jobs. However, when you are looking to take over as the Full time Athletics Director, while stepping down from your coaching position, something drastic must have occurred to change your mind -- especially when your team is 0-6 -- one would think now is the perfect time to leave the coaching profession for an Administration job.
Well, I hope he can turn things around in Orlando. I hate to see a budding program fall so flat so quickly.
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Earlier it was announce the USC Head Coach Steve Sarkisian had taken a medical leave of absence -- USC Trojans athletic director Pat Haden announced Monday that head football coach Steve Sarkisian has been fired.
Haden's official statement:
"After careful consideration of what is in the best interest of the university and our student-athletes, I have made the decision to terminate Steve Sarkisian, effective immediately.
I want to thank Clay Helton for stepping into the interim head coach role, and I want to add how proud I am of our coaching staff and players and the way they are responding to this difficult situation.
Through all of this we remain concerned for Steve and hope that it will give him the opportunity to focus on his personal well-being."
A source close to Sarkisian says: " "Steve Sarkisian is aware of the termination and is deeply disappointed, but right now his #1 priority is getting himself well. To that end, he has checked himself into a residential treatment facility. He's grateful for all the support that will help him get through this difficult time."
The specific nature of Sarkisian's issues hasn't been officially revealed, the Los Angeles Times' Nathan Fenno and Lindsey Thiry compiled a report Monday that outlined his alleged use of alcohol during his previous head coaching stint at Washington.
I had a feeling the USC guard wanted to get him out anyway. I'm guessing they used this as their opportunity, though, this is just my speculation of course.
---
Spurrier quitting midseason is more of a surprise than his leaving in general. I suppose, sometimes you have to know when to say when.
His teams have been decent these past few years, but he can never quite get over that hump. This season, his team looks a little lost, and I'm willing to bet he knows he's the reason for it. He just doesn't seem to have fire that once drove him, and the team is responding to that dissonance -- it's hard to be a winner when you do not have the fervor that once drove you to success.
Coincidentally, Spurrier came out to clarify; "It's a resignation, not a retirement".
---
George O’Leary is going to step down as Central Florida's interim AD but will continue coaching.
To some, this might come as a bit of a surprise, because O'Leary took the Iterim AD position last year following the departure of Todd Stansbury.
O'Leary was to maintain the interim AD title through December, at which time the university would evaluate his performance and make a decision on his future as AD -- It was O’Leary's preference to step down as head coach so he could take on the AD job on a full-time basis.
A stirring turn of events to say the least, as the UCF Knights are presently 0-6; are far cry from their Fiesta Bowl win in the post 2013 season, over the Baylor Bears.
Clearly O'Leary is incapable of juggling both, the AD & Head Football Coaching Jobs. However, when you are looking to take over as the Full time Athletics Director, while stepping down from your coaching position, something drastic must have occurred to change your mind -- especially when your team is 0-6 -- one would think now is the perfect time to leave the coaching profession for an Administration job.
Well, I hope he can turn things around in Orlando. I hate to see a budding program fall so flat so quickly.
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