Not even a 42-21 victory on Senior Night could save Chuck Long’s job.
Despite an impressive win against a UNLV team fighting for bowl eligibility Saturday night, the San Diego State football team’s head coach was fired yesterday afternoon.
“(Saturday) athletic director Jeff Schemmel informed head football coach Chuck Long that he will not be returning as our head football coach at San Diego State,” said Senior Associate Athletic Director Don Oberhelman, who spoke on the behalf of the recently hospitalized Schemmel. “Jeff’s goal for each one of our coaches is twofold: win championships and graduate our student athletes.”
While Long succeeded in the academic part of the program, winning was a different story. Prior to the victory against the Rebels, SDSU had lost seven straight games by an average margin of 33 points. The Aztecs ranked 100th or worse in the nation in nine statistical categories, including second-to-last in rushing defense and third-to-last in rushing offense. SDSU’s 2-10 record marked the first time in the program’s history that a team had lost double-digit games.
“Speaking for Jeff Schemmel, I would say the wins and losses would be obviously the main determining factor (in firing Long),” Oberhelman said.
Added University President Stephen Weber: “We need to win football games and do better in every year than we’ve done in the past.”
In his three seasons with the Aztecs, Long has managed a 9-27 record and has failed to finish higher than sixth place in the final Mountain West Conference standings. Despite his poor record and his team’s struggling performances, Schemmel still gave Long a vote of confidence in late October saying, “I have no plans to fire my football coach.”
Yet Weber said in yesterday’s press conference that he and Schemmel had been calling donors and raising private money for the past two weeks in order to buy out Long’s contract. It’s estimated the school will owe Long nearly $1.4 million should he not find another employer in that two-year period.
Weber also admitted that the school’s athletic department is in debt $2.5 million as of right now, but the recent passage of the Instructionally Related Activities fees will, “fill that gap.” He went on to say none of Long’s buyout money will come from the state and will come strictly from the “just over a million dollars in private money.”
Long, a former Iowa quarterback and runner-up for the 1985 Heisman Trophy, became the head coach in December of 2005 after seven years as an assistant coach at Oklahoma. With the Sooners, Long coached 2003 Heisman Trophy winner Jason White and standout running back Adrian Peterson.
Long’s successor will inherit a team returning nine starters on both offense and defense next year 8212; a feat Oberhelman said will make the new job opening an appealing one.
“In our communication with a search firm we’ve already engaged with, (the job) is very, very attractive,” Oberhelman said. “It is my belief that this is going to be a highly sought after position.”