The head coach of the Gators has been fired.
This list marks a change of direction for myself and many others. We expect victories and results, and we expect them all right now. As with all occupations, it happens at the wrong time and too soon for some people, but we rarely think to ourselves with patience that someone might have been fired too soon.
Despite the fact that the most of these guys were fired due to a poor season, I could argue for all five of them based on their prior work. There is undoubtedly background in this situation, and trends must be taken into account, but to what extent is up for discussion. I contend that the following five coaches were let go too soon or unfairly.
Note: I did not include anyone sacked due to a controversy. I won’t claim to be insiders on those, so it reduces to a summary of program patterns and on-field performance.
East Carolina’s Ruffin McNeill
Record: Six Seasons, 42-34
It still baffles me, nine years later, that ECU fired Ruffin McNeill in 2015. In six, he experienced two losing seasons with 5-7 records. His teams were winning and playing sour defense. Despite my best efforts to exclude post-firing success from this list, the Pirates have only had two winning seasons since he was sacked. During his tenure at ECU, McNeil attended four bowl games. Since then, he has held a number of assistant positions at prestigious universities; he is currently employed at NC State, although ECU hasn’t received any it appropriately since he got fired. To put it briefly, he served as the list’s inspiration.
Middle Tennessee’s Rick Stockstill
Record: 18 Seasons, 113-111
Rick Stockstill was let go during the summer, making him the most recent termination on the list. When he took over a program that was struggling decades ago, he added relevancy and stability. It is a difficult place to win, and in his eighteen years, he performed admirably. Despite having two winning seasons and bowl appearances prior, 2023 was a dismal 4-8 record. In his eighteen years, he appeared in ten bowl games. Without him, this program would be bogged down in conflict and insignificance.
Although Mason’s appointment as his successor pleased me, I didn’t think it should have happened to that. Stockstill is currently employed with Florida State.
