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Posted on 11/24/2006 10:43:17 AM PST by darkangel82
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Larry Coker's tumultuous and disappointing season at Miami ended with his dismissal as head coach.
Coker was fired Friday, a move that was expected for weeks. It came one day after the Hurricanes finished a 6-6 regular season by beating Boston College, snapping a four-game losing streak and becoming bowl-eligible.
Coker will coach the team in a bowl game, if Miami is invited, athletic director Paul Dee said.
"I'd like to certainly end on a positive note," Coker said.
After the game, he said he expected to remain at Miami "a long time." But less than 12 hours later, despite a 59-15 record and two appearances in the national championship game, Coker was gone -- doomed largely by 12 losses in the last three seasons, and no conference titles or major bowl bids since 2003.
He had three seasons left on a contract that paid him about $2 million annually.
"There were a lot of issues, but certainly the direction the program was going was certainly one," Dee said. "I wouldn't say that was totally it, but if you want to look in that direction, that was one. There were disappointments. There were opportunities, I think, to play better and we didn't. It all comes to the head coach."
There are plenty of potential candidates to replace Coker, including former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez, who is close with Miami president Donna Shalala; Rutgers coach and former Miami assistant Greg Schiano; and Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe.
Former Florida coach and current South Carolina boss Steve Spurrier said earlier this week that he expects to be back with the Gamecocks next fall for his third season -- trying to rebuke a story that identified him as Miami's top choice for the job.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
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Six losses and no bowl (or a third tier bowl game) will do it.
What have you done for me lately???
Coker was interviewed at the end of last night's game and he seemed to believe that he would be back next year.
He said that he was gonna meet with Donna Shalala sometime next week and discuss his future. Apparently Shalala had already made up her mind.
I hate to to hear that. Of course I'm a Florida State fan and don't think they will get anyone as good so.....
This is sad, because who better than a "Coker" to coach Miami?
LOL I was thinking that too.
www.myspace.com/thecokerchokers
Also that much talked about that bench clearing fight during the middle of the season did not help either.
I figured this one before the start of the season. The FIU brawl merely clinched it. Larry Coker was deadman walking after losing to "Saint" Bobby in September.
When I saw the attendance at last night's game in Miami was 23,000, the first thing I thought of was the Coker was gone.
23,000? Wow, that's what, a quarter of the Orange Bowl? Sheesh.
Coker was a choker
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