After days of mounting speculation, Rutgers University President Robert Barchi on Sunday fired his athletic director and head football coach, saying it was time for a "fresh start." Watch video
NEW BRUNSWICK--It was a sack that took out the key players of a football program which had collapsed not only on the field, but off it as well.
After days of mounting speculation, Rutgers University President Robert Barchi on Sunday fired his athletic director and head football coach, saying it was time for a "fresh start."
Barchi said with the university's entry into the Big Ten Conference, Rutgers needed to be competitive. "There is a lot of pressure in this league and we have to succeed," he said.
In a conference call with reporters several hours after terminating the contracts of coach Kyle Flood and athletic director Julie Hermann--and after meeting privately for 20 minutes with the football team earlier in the afternoon--Barchi said the move to shake up the athletic department was not due to any single fact. However, he cited the off-field problems of the football team and a program that was "not moving in the right direction," after a losing season.
The Scarlet Knights went just 4-8 this year, but were rocked by scandal, including the arrests of several key players charged in a series of home invasions, reports of failed drug tests, and the improper contact by Flood with a faculty member aimed at boosting the grade of a key cornerback who had been deemed academically ineligible to play.
Rutgers immediately announced the hiring of Patrick Hobbs, Dean Emeritus of the Seton Hall University School of Law who previously led the athletics program at Seton Hall University, to be the new athletic director.
Hobbs, 55, who was on the conference call, said he was aware of the challenges, but called it a "tremendous opportunity" to be coming to Rutgers.
"I'm really exited by this. Our affiliation with the Big Ten has elevated the competition we're going to be up against," he said. "I see nothing but opportunity here."
Hobbs was offered a five-year contract that will pay him $560,000 a year, with annual incentivized bonuses based on performance, said Barchi.
According to Hobbs, the search has already begun for a coach to replace Flood. "We want to bring a great coach to Rutgers. We're going to work and find the right coach," he said.
The team's associate head coach, Norries Wilson, will serve as the interim head coach leading the university's off-season program until a new head coach is hired.
The announcements of the terminations came after days of silence from the Rutgers administration, amid growing rumors and speculation that a major shakeup was in the works. Hermann was summoned to Barchi's home Sunday for a short meeting shortly before noon, and left less than 15 minutes later after being informed of the changes being made. Flood, on a recruiting trip to Long Island, was notified by phone.
Barchi said he had been unaware Flood would be off campus, and apologized for not telling the coach personally that he was being let go.
The coach earlier in the season had been suspended for three games and fined $50,000 in the wake of the university's investigation into his contact with a faculty member involving efforts to improve the grade of a star player who had found academically ineligible to play.
Everything you need to know about Rutgers' athletics major shakeups
The program has also been the focus of an ongoing criminal investigation after at least six members of the team were arrested on assault charges and tied to a series of home invasions in which students were robbed of money and drugs.
In an announcement to the university community Sunday afternoon, Barchi said while the Scarlet Knights under Flood won 26 games and played in three bowl games, "our continued struggles on the field combined with several off the field issues have convinced me that we need new leadership of our football program."
Flood, 44, was in his fourth year as head football coach at Rutgers. He was given a two-year contract extension in September 2014 that was to pay him at least $6.5 million through the 2018 season. Hermann, 52, was being paid $450,000 annually on a contract that runs through June 2018.
According to Flood's contract, he is due a $1.4 million buyout if he is fired without cause. Under the terms of Hermann's contract, the "university shall continue to pay Hermann her full base salary and health and pension benefits, but no other amount or item.'' Under that contract, she would be owed $1.16 million through 2018.
Barchi said the buyout money likely would come through a combination of private and university funds.
Following the announcements by Rutgers, Gov. Chris Christie, who university officials said was not consulted about the changes, issued a statement praising Hobbs, who serves as Ombudsman for the Office of the Governor.
"I've known Dean Hobbs for many years and he has always been a person of great character and judgment, as well as an effective leader and manager. I can think of few people better suited to step into the role of athletic director," Christie said. "Rutgers is fortunate to have him and I congratulate him on his selection."
Flood, meanwhile, who had parked his SUV inside the gates of the Rutgers practice field and then boarded a helicopter for a New York high school championship game on Long Island Sunday morning, finally returned at 2:20 p.m. after the news of his termination broke. In a message on social media, he later thanked the Rutgers community and wished his team success.
"This program has been built on a strong foundation. I have no doubt the best is yet to come," he wrote.
He was not given the opportunity to meet with his players after his firing.
Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.