You’re fired

I’m sure there are a few of you that have watched the Celebrity Apprentice starring Donald Trump. I haven’t but you can’t miss the two words that have made this reality show famous.

The two words spoken by the Donald that were most famous were, “You’re fired!”

In everyday life those two words are scary unless you get fired from a job you absolutely hate. But most people are not happy when they are let go. It can be emotional because jobs are tough to get.

This past week or so has been very interesting in the sporting world as several coaches and or managers have lost their jobs, in other words, been fired.

The Miami Dolphins fired Coach Joe Philbin after a more than lackluster performance from his team in London, England against the New York Jets. I saw some of the game the Sunday before last and it was amazing that some of these athletes played so poorly. I would have to say there were a few that looked like they had flat quit on plays.

Apparently Coach Philbin lost the respect from his players and therefore was expendable. It was time to find an interim coach to fill out the rest of the season. I believe Philbin was fired before the plane landed in Miami.

A couple of days after the Seattle Mariners finished their season, new GM Jerry Dipoto did a no hard feelings letting go of Manager Lloyd McClendon. In two years McClendon led Seattle to a 163-161 record. But preseason predictions had Seattle as a favorite to make it to the World Series.

But players underperformed for one reason or another. The bullpen couldn’t hold leads and Fernando Rodney blew a ton of save opportunities.

When General Manager Jack Zduriencik was fired most felt that McClendon’s days were numbered. But the new GM could not argue that Lloyd gave everything he could to win, unfortunately the players didn’t always reciprocate.

Sorry, Lloyd!

On Saturday night after a real beat down by Portland State (PSU), North Texas (UNT) fired Head Coach Dan McCarney. PSU humbled the Mean Green 66-7.

This was a FCS win versus the FBS. To add insult to the huge defeat it happened on Homecoming at North Texas and PSU was paid $425,000 to play the game.

Ouch! Talk about highway robbery!

Maryland let Randy Edsall go after their third big loss in a row. Edsall had success at Connecticut and Maryland felt he was the guy to lead the Terps.

But moving into the Big Ten Conference has not been an easy transition for football at least.

University of Southern California dropped Coach Steve Sarkisian as head coach after several episodes of alcohol abuse.

On Sunday Athletic Director Pat Haden said that Sark was on a leave of absence to get his life turned around.

But there were too many stories floating around and maybe one or two pictures that validated the issues at hand. That and the fact that the alumni was not happy with a couple of home losses and the direction of a program that can get the best players out of California without really trying very hard.

Stay tuned to see how long Pat Haden still has his job.

The University of South Carolina announced Monday that Head Coach Steve Spurrier is retiring.

After a storied career as a player (Heisman Trophy winner) and coach at Florida the Washington Redskins, and South Carolina’s winningest coach, the 70 year old Spurrier most likely felt that it was time for new blood especially after a 2-4 start to start of this season.

I know that a lot of people have a huge dislike for Spurrier but he did know how to win games.

It is a bit unprecedented that this many coaches have been let go in the middle of the season but with the pressures of winning games for the fans, alumni and donors there is a fine line for coaches to walk.

That is why there are large contracts and buyouts to protect both sides.

I’m not sure the big money is worth the headaches of the big time programs but there is little doubt that once you sign a contract the next thing you might hear as a coach is, you’re fired!