Numerous sources are reporting that Purdue University has dismissed Head Football Coach Darrell Hazell.
Hammer and Rails, the Purdue community on SB Nation have collected links to a few of the sources that are reporting the dismissal ahead of any statement from the school. As of now, the university has still not sent out confirmation of Hazell’s termination. So if and when they do, they’ll be a day late and a buck short.
Darrell Hazell is no longer #Purdue's head coach, https://t.co/mDoTruoyzI has learned. Hazell was 9-33. https://t.co/SZFEFOI63V
— GoldandBlack.com (@GoldandBlackcom) October 16, 2016
Darrell Hazell has been fired by Purdue @sbnationcfb https://t.co/22QnTR3adO pic.twitter.com/hPhqxYYLvv
— Hammer and Rails (@HammerAndRails) October 16, 2016
Before the kickoff of Purdue’s game at Illinois on October 8th, numerous media members told The Sports Bank that Darrell Hazell would be dismissed should the Boilermakers fall in Champaign. As you know, the Boilers triumphed over the Illini 34-31 in overtime last weekend, but it only served to delay the inevitable.
Purdue was thoroughly embarrassed at home yesterday versus Iowa in a game that looks much closer than it really was via a lot of late game window dressing. Thus essentially, the Hazell firing has been coming for a long time, and we were all just awaiting the final straw.
Now that the hammer has come down, many Purdue fans are reacting in a manner like this right now on Twitter:
Hazell went a very unimpressive 9-33 during his three year tenure at Purdue; including just 3-24 in B1G play. Two of those three wins came at the expense of the Illini, in Champaign. Prior to last weekend’s contest at Illinois, Darrell Hazell had as many wins over a B1G foe in three years of conference play as Western Michigan Coach P.J. Fleck had in the month of September.
Many Boilermaker fans are calling for Fleck to leave WMU and replace Hazell. Others want Les Miles, who was fired by LSU eary this season. Fleck and Miles are probably two of the hottest names right now in the coaching carousel rumor mill.
However, you could also see a top of huge, name brand programs open up this December. The LSU job is already open, while Texas, USC and Notre Dame could all see coaching vacancies become reality by the end of the new year.
Whoever comes to Purdue, they won’t have to achieve much in order to surpass the performance of Darrell Hazell.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.