Tollner ‘Shocked, Disappointed’ at Dismissal : ‘New Leadership’ Is Necessary, USC Says, but Coach Disagrees

Ted Tollner has been dismissed as the football coach at the University of Southern California, effective next month, it was announced Monday.

“Without getting into specifics, we considered all the areas involved with the direction of the program and we decided we needed new leadership,” Southern Cal Athletic Director Mike McGee said at a news conference on campus.

University President James Zumberge stressed he thought the future of the football program at the school would be better served under a new coach.

Tollner, who met with the press afterward, clearly disagreed with the decision.

“It’s hard to face the reality right today because I am a little bit, in addition to being disappointed, shocked because I personally think the decision is wrong--based on criteria (by which) I think a football program should be judged,” he said.

Zumberge called the decision to dismiss Tollner a “judgment call” and said that only time will tell if it was the correct move to make.

Despite the criticism he’s endured for the past four years, the 46-year-old Tollner said his experience at Southern Cal was a good one.

“I’m extremely disappointed for obvious reasons,” he said. “This is a great university and a great job. Believe it or not, it’s been a lot more enjoyable than you might think. It really has been.”

McGee said a search for a new coach would begin immediately and that he expected a number of top-flight coaches will be considered.

“I think this is one of the top three jobs in the country today . . . with that in mind, I think we’ll attract a strong pool of candidates,” McGee said, adding that a new coach would be named as soon as possible but there was no time frame involved.

In Tollner’s four years as coach, the Trojans had a 26-19-1 record with one Pacific-10 Conference championship and three appearances in post-season bowl games, including the 1985 Rose Bowl.

The Trojans finished the 1986 season at 7-4 and will play Auburn in the Florida Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day. Southern Cal was ranked 10th in the nation prior to losing its final two games, 45-25 to UCLA on Nov. 22 and 38-37 to Notre Dame a week later.

Tollner’s four-year record was 1-7 against Notre Dame and UCLA, the school’s two biggest rivals.

“Over the four-year period, the fact that the record of the current coach (against Notre Dame and UCLA) is 1-7--while his predecessor was 11-3--was taken into consideration. But no one game was responsible,” McGee said.

Zumberge opened the news conference by reading a prepared statement:

“This press conference has been called to announce my decision to relieve Ted Tollner as head football coach of USC effective Jan. 2, 1987, after the Florida Citrus Bowl,” he said in the statement.

“The university will honor its financial obligations to Coach Tollner for the next two years under the terms of his contract. We will also retain all members of his coaching staff on the payroll until their contracts expire on June 30, 1987.”

Zumberge said that he reached the decision Saturday and informed Tollner of his decision Monday morning.

“A decision of this magnitude is not arrived at without considerable personal pain and agony,” Zumberge’s statement continued. “These considerations, however, must be set aside when the best interests of the university are at stake. Those interests are related to the high expectations that the university has with respect to its football program.

“These expectations have not been realized during the past four years, and I am not convinced that these realizations will be fulfilled under the continued leadership of Coach Tollner.

“This decision was made by me and athletic director, Dr. Mike McGee, after consultation with a number of people inside and outside the university whose opinions we trust and value.”

After going 4-6-1 during his first season, Tollner led the Trojans to a Pac-10 Conference championship in 1984 and a 20-17 victory over Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Tollner was named the 1984 Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

After the 1985 Rose Bowl, Tollner was given an upgraded four-year contract, running through the 1988 football season.

Tollner was named the Southern Cal’s 18th head coach in November of 1982, succeeding John Robinson, now the coach of the Rams. Tollner had spent nine months as the school’s offensive coordinator and running backs coach prior to being appointed head coach.

Tollner spent the 1981 season as the offensive coordinator at Brigham Young after eight years as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at San Diego State (1973-80).

Tollner’s future became a topic of speculation this season following the Trojans’ loss to UCLA. Prior to the game with Notre Dame, there were reports that Tollner would return only if Southern Cal defeated the Fighting Irish.

After the Trojans blew a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead and Notre Dame won on a field goal on the game’s final play, the team was met with a chorus of boos at the Memorial Coliseum.

Because of the crowd’s unruly behavior, a long-standing tradition of introducing the team’s seniors to the crowd was skipped as Tollner waved the players to the dressing room.