Tennessee State Coach James Reese and five of his assistants were relieved of their duties last night, just hours after the team's 30-13 season-ending loss to Murray State.
With the loss, TSU finished the season 4-7, marking the third losing record in Reese's five-year tenure and giving him a career mark of 24-33.
''You set goals and when you don't meet them, you open the door (to dismissal). It's always tough when you don't succeed the way you want to,'' Reese said.
''When you look at the bare facts of it, I don't know how much the other factors weigh into it. In this business, it's about wins and losses.''
Also terminated were offensive coordinator Anthony Owens, offensive line coach Harry Galbreath, defensive ends coach/coordinator of football administration Dwayne Thomas, defensive tackles coach Eric Mathies and safeties coach/recruiting coordinator Tony Turner.
''You hear the rumor mill, but it doesn't really hit you until it happens,'' Galbreath, a former UT star, said. ''This is the first time I've been fired from anything in my life. I guess all good things come to an end. I guess this is the end.''
Defensive coordinator Rod Reed, cornerbacks coach Randy Fuller, running backs coach Brandan Blew and quarterbacks coach Shannon Harris were all retained.
''You've got people who don't know anything about football making football decisions,'' Owens said.
''I hate failing, I hate failure,'' Thomas said.
Jesse James, a TSU letterman who serves as the school's NCAA faculty representative, has been named director of football operations while a search is conducted for Reese's successor.
A 1991 graduate of Tennessee State and a three-year football letterman, Reese joined the coaching staff after concluding his playing career. He spent a season as a graduate assistant and eight years as an assistant ? including one as offensive coordinator ? before being named head coach in January 2000 following the departure of L.C. Cole to take the Alabama State helm.
His first three seasons were marred by NCAA sanctions, which included scholarship reductions, due to rules infractions by the previous coaching staff.
The highlight of his tenure was 2001, when the Tigers opened with six straight wins, finished 8-3 and were in and out of the Top 25 as Harris ? then a senior QB ? threw for more than 3,000 yards.
The following year, TSU struggled through a 2-10 season.
After finishing 7-5 last season, Reese signed a second four-year contract just as preseason workouts began in August.
''It is not anything we were proud of, but there were a lot of contributing factors to the situation,'' said Galbreath, a former Tennessee start who played nine seasons in the NFL.
Owens ? an alumnus like Reese, Reed, Fuller and Harris 0151 was in his second stint as a TSU assistant, having spent the 1992-93 seasons under Joe Gilliam Sr. He returned in 1999 after five years at Texas Southern.
Galbreath played nine seasons in the NFL after earning collegiate all-America honors at Tennessee. He coached two seasons at Austin Peay before joining the TSU staff in 2000.
Thomas also came on board in 2000, after previously coaching at Montclair State in his native New Jersey and spending time in the New Jersey and New York prep ranks.
Mathies just completed his second season on the TSU staff, coming from Midwestern (Texas) State where he spent three years.
Turner spent two seasons with the Tigers, arriving from Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Illinois, where he was a part of the Panthers' back-to-back league titles. Prior to EIU, he had coached at North Carolina Central, Central Arkansas and Fayetteville (N.C.) State.
With the loss, TSU finished the season 4-7, marking the third losing record in Reese's five-year tenure and giving him a career mark of 24-33.
''You set goals and when you don't meet them, you open the door (to dismissal). It's always tough when you don't succeed the way you want to,'' Reese said.
''When you look at the bare facts of it, I don't know how much the other factors weigh into it. In this business, it's about wins and losses.''
Also terminated were offensive coordinator Anthony Owens, offensive line coach Harry Galbreath, defensive ends coach/coordinator of football administration Dwayne Thomas, defensive tackles coach Eric Mathies and safeties coach/recruiting coordinator Tony Turner.
''You hear the rumor mill, but it doesn't really hit you until it happens,'' Galbreath, a former UT star, said. ''This is the first time I've been fired from anything in my life. I guess all good things come to an end. I guess this is the end.''
Defensive coordinator Rod Reed, cornerbacks coach Randy Fuller, running backs coach Brandan Blew and quarterbacks coach Shannon Harris were all retained.
''You've got people who don't know anything about football making football decisions,'' Owens said.
''I hate failing, I hate failure,'' Thomas said.
Jesse James, a TSU letterman who serves as the school's NCAA faculty representative, has been named director of football operations while a search is conducted for Reese's successor.
A 1991 graduate of Tennessee State and a three-year football letterman, Reese joined the coaching staff after concluding his playing career. He spent a season as a graduate assistant and eight years as an assistant ? including one as offensive coordinator ? before being named head coach in January 2000 following the departure of L.C. Cole to take the Alabama State helm.
His first three seasons were marred by NCAA sanctions, which included scholarship reductions, due to rules infractions by the previous coaching staff.
The highlight of his tenure was 2001, when the Tigers opened with six straight wins, finished 8-3 and were in and out of the Top 25 as Harris ? then a senior QB ? threw for more than 3,000 yards.
The following year, TSU struggled through a 2-10 season.
After finishing 7-5 last season, Reese signed a second four-year contract just as preseason workouts began in August.
''It is not anything we were proud of, but there were a lot of contributing factors to the situation,'' said Galbreath, a former Tennessee start who played nine seasons in the NFL.
Owens ? an alumnus like Reese, Reed, Fuller and Harris 0151 was in his second stint as a TSU assistant, having spent the 1992-93 seasons under Joe Gilliam Sr. He returned in 1999 after five years at Texas Southern.
Galbreath played nine seasons in the NFL after earning collegiate all-America honors at Tennessee. He coached two seasons at Austin Peay before joining the TSU staff in 2000.
Thomas also came on board in 2000, after previously coaching at Montclair State in his native New Jersey and spending time in the New Jersey and New York prep ranks.
Mathies just completed his second season on the TSU staff, coming from Midwestern (Texas) State where he spent three years.
Turner spent two seasons with the Tigers, arriving from Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Illinois, where he was a part of the Panthers' back-to-back league titles. Prior to EIU, he had coached at North Carolina Central, Central Arkansas and Fayetteville (N.C.) State.
