 BOWLING GREEN, OH - Less than 24 hours after plastering arch-rival Toledo, Gregg Brandon has been relieved of his duties as Bowling Green’s head football coach.
On Friday afternoon in the Glass Bowl, the Falcons demolished the Rockets, 38-10 to finish 6-6 in Brandon’s sixth year as BG’s head coach.
Saturday evening at 7 pm, Greg Christopher, BG’s director of athletics, was meeting with the media to explain why he had decided to fire Brandon, who was 44-30 overall and 31-17 in the Mid-American Conference with three bowl appearances. Brandon was given a three-year contract extension last season after finishing 8-5 and getting the Falcons to the third bowl game in his tenure.
“Over the last few weeks in coming to the decision, ultimately it came down to the football program here at Bowling Green needing to move in a different direction,” Christopher said in his opening remarks. “There’s no single moment, not a series of what I would call lop-sided losses that led us to today. No NCAA violations. I guess in essence why we’re here today is in a sense an accumulation of things.”
Christopher then listed several items, including off-the-field issues with the team, which included players being arrested and either thrown off the team or suspended for games; APR (the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate) problems which led to the program losing nine scholarships over the last two seasons; and attrition of players from the team.
“All of those things, I believe, impacted the team on the field this year,” Christopher said. “That led to some of what you saw, the ups-and-downs of our season, some of the inconsistency, some of the challenges, some of the discipline issues even on the field.
“That ultimately is why we’re here today.”
While Christopher did not pinpoint an exact time when he started to think about making a chance, he did say he “started having serious concerns’’ during a three-week stretch in October when Bowling Green lost back-to-back home games in the fourth quarter to Eastern Michigan and Miami, two teams which finished a combined 5-19 overall.
When asked to describe Brandon’s reaction to the news, Christopher said: “I think the context of that conversation between the two of us, I would rather keep that private.”
Brandon will receive a contract buyout of $250,000. Christopher said the money will come from a combination of fund-raised monies and outside marketing revenue.
The contracts of BG’s assistant coaches will also be honored for their duration.
Doug Phillips, the Falcons’ recruiting coordinator, will serve as interim football administrator, Christopher said.
“One of the more important processes that we’re going to have over the next two to three weeks is the recruiting piece; the verbal commitments that we have and trying to work with those young men and their families about their future toward BGSU,” Christopher said.
With the timing of the decision, Christopher was unable to speak to team members in person.
“The one thing I regret in this process is that we were not able to met with the student-athletes today (Saturday) and be able to look them in the eye with this,” Christopher said. “The student-athletes were all called this afternoon by the assistant coaches and then I have called several myself this afternoon and will continue that.”
Christopher said a nation-wide search would begin immediately to fill the position.
“We have a profile that is already set,” Christopher said. “There is no set timeline. We certainly want to move as quickly as we can, but you hear this phrase all the time — ‘you want to find the right person for our student athletes and our program.’
“I’ve got a list of about 15 things on a sheet of paper that are priorities and traits,” he added. “I think any hire you make starts with character and integrity at the top of the list.
“It’s important for our position and where we are for someone with Midwest ties or Ohio roots. Someone at this level really has to have a passion to recruit. And you need someone who is a strong mentor, a teacher and a leader.”
After the win over Toledo, Brandon still held out the slim hope that Bowling Green would be invited to a bowl game.
“The door isn’t completed shut on a bowl invitation, but at least the conversations I’ve had with our commissioner and some of the bowl officials, I don’t think it’s likely that any 6-6 MAC teams would wind up in bowl games,” Christopher said.
Bowling Green is now one of four MAC schools currently looking for a head football coach joining Eastern Michigan, Miami and Toledo. |
