Turnover: Two Fired, Three Quit

And the coaching changes just keep on coming . . .

In the latest round of college football coaching dismissals Monday, Dan Henning resigned at scandal-plagued Boston College, Johnny Majors quit at Pittsburgh and Jerry Pettibone followed suit at Oregon State. Maryland’s Mark Duffner and Southern Methodist’s Tom Rossley were fired.

With two weeks left in the regular season, 20 of 111 Division I-A coaches have resigned, retired or been fired. Since the NCAA went to I-A and I-AA schools in 1978, the record for most coaching changes in a season is 27 in 1980, when there were 139 schools in I-A.

At Chestnut Hill, Mass., Henning resigned two days after finishing another losing season, this one rocked by a gambling scandal, although the school insisted that was not a factor in his departure.

“It has nothing to do with the gambling situation,” Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk said. “It has to do with football. Look at the statistics. Take a look at the record. Take a look at the program.”

Said Henning, 16-19-1 in his three seasons at the school: “This has been a difficult year.There have been a number of distractions that have hurt the focus and clouded the overall issue.”

On Nov. 6, 13 players were suspended for gambling. Two had bet against Boston College inthe Syracuse game, and Henning said they would never return to the team. The Eagles finished5-7.

“I believe that someone else may be able to take a fresh approach that will benefit both Boston College and the players that are members of this football program,” Henning said.

Gladchuk said he scheduled a routine postseason discussion Monday at which he and Henning looked at the progress of the football program. During the meeting, Gladchuk said, they decided that Henning should not return.

Gladchuk, who did not mention a possible successor, said he had not determined Henning’s future before the meeting. But Gladchuk did say that the football program had gone downhill since its victory in the 1994 Aloha Bowl capped an 8-4 season in Henning’s first year.

At Pitt, Majors, 61, will leave after Saturday’s game against Rutgers. In his second stint with the Panthers, Majors is 11-32 in four seasons. In his first stint, Majors led the Panthers to the 1976 national championship.

Majors’ decision to abandon a rebuilding project he assumed in 1993 spared new Athletic Director Steve Pederson the difficult choice of firing or retaining a coach who has not won but still is revered by many Pitt fans. Pitt (3-7) hasn’t won more than three games in any season of Majors’ second tenure.

Majors, 184-137-10 in 28 seasons at Iowa State, Pitt and Tennessee, will take a new job at Pitt as special assistant to the chancellor and athletic director. He is the fourth consecutive Pitt coach to resign or be fired with time left on his contract, following FogeFazio, Mike Gottfried and Paul Hackett.

Meanwhile, Pettibone, resigning after six losing seasons and a 13-52-1 record at Oregon State, told his players of his decision Monday afternoon.

Athletic Director Dutch Baughman said in a news conference that Pettibone’s decision was made last Thursday, after a meeting in Baughman’s home. They agreed that no announcement would be made until after Saturday’s game.

Baughman said Pettibone, 2-9 this season, was retiring.

At College Park, Md., Duffner, 43, finished his five years at Maryland with a 20-35 record, including 5-6 this season. Duffner, however, could be a candidate to replace Yale’s Carm Cozza, who retired after 32 seasons.

At Dallas, Rossley, hired to revive an SMU program ruined by the NCAA’s death penalty, was dismissed after his sixth consecutive losing season. The Mustangs were 5-6 in their first year in the Western Athletic Conference and Rossley, 50, was 15-48-3.

Also Monday, Baylor Athletic Director Tom Stanton said former Colorado coach Bill McCartneyhad turned down an offer to replace Chuck Reedy, fired on Sunday.

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Open Season on Coaches

With two weeks left in the regular season, 21 of 111 Division I-A coaches have either resigned, retired or been fired. The following are those 20 coaches with their replacements in parentheses if any:

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School Coach Alabama Gene Stallings Arkansas State John Bobo Baylor Chuck Reedy Boston College Dan Henning Fresno State Jim Sweeney Illinois Lou Tepper Indiana Bill Mallory Kentucky Bill Curry Maryland Mark Duffner Minnesota Jim Wacker New Mexico State Jim Hess Notre Dame Lou Holtz (Bob Davie) Oregon St. Jerry Pettibone Pittsburgh Johnny Majors Purdue Jim Colletto (Joe Tiller) San Jose State John Ralston Southern Methodist Tom Rossley Tulane Buddy Teevens Western Michigan Al Molde Wyoming Joe Tiller

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