Nov 25, 2018 4 min read

Larry Fedora overcame years of NCAA trouble at North Carolina – from inherited scholarship reductions to an academic case that hovered over recruiting – to help the Tar Heels put up big offensive numbers and win an Atlantic Coast Conference division championship.

But Fedora never could halt a startling two-year downturn for his program, and that ultimately cost him his job.

The school announced Sunday that Fedora is out after seven seasons. The decision came the day after an overtime loss to rival North Carolina State that dropped the Tar Heels to 2-9 and concluded with a brawl between the teams in the end zone after the Wolfpack scored the winning touchdown.

Fedora’s exit completes a swift fall . UNC matched a program record with 11 wins and a trip to the ACC championship game in 2015. UNC slipped to 8-5 the next season and then went 5-18 over the past two seasons marred by injuries, inexperienced players and close losses.

In a statement, Fedora said coaching at UNC was a “great honor” and called the past two seasons “challenging and heartbreaking.” He said that he was “extremely disappointed” that he would no longer coach the Tar Heels, adding: “I hate that it had to end this way.”

“I wanted the opportunity to fix this,” Fedora said. “I wanted to make the changes necessary to win again. I also understand this business. I understand that you don’t always get the time you want to turn things around. I respect the administration’s position and understand their actions.”

Fedora agreed to a new seven-year deal after the 2015 division title. According to contract terms through the 2022 season, the change will cost UNC more than $12.4 million, with about $12 million of that distributed over the coming four seasons. That number could drop if Fedora takes another job.

Texas Tech fires Kingsbury: Kliff Kingsbury was fired Sunday by Texas Tech after the former record-setting Red Raiders quarterback had a losing overall record in his six seasons as their head coach.

The move came a day after the Red Raiders finished their third consecutive losing season with a 35-24 loss to Baylor when they had a chance to get bowl eligible. That was their fifth straight loss after a 5-2 start this year, though it seems unlikely that a win in the finale would have saved Kingsbury’s job.

“It’s not based on one game. This type of decision is not based on one season. This decision was made based on a three-year pattern, a three-year pattern of inconsistency,” athletic director Kirby Hocutt said during a campus news conference. “We saw progress, but we also saw lapses of progress in key critical areas.”

Kingsbury finished with a 35-40 overall record, a .467 winning percentage that is better than only two of the other 14 Texas Tech coaches in the program’s history.

Texas Tech was 19-35 in Big 12 games under Kingsbury, including 3-6 in the conference each of the past three seasons even while consistently having one of the nation’s top offenses with quality quarterbacks. The Red Raiders have now gone nine consecutive seasons without a winning record in Big 12 play.

Helton staying at USC: Clay Helton will remain Southern California’s head coach after the Trojans’ first losing season since 2000.

USC athletic director Lynn Swann made the announcement Sunday, one day after the Trojans finished 5-7 with a narrow loss to Notre Dame.

Despite widespread dissatisfaction with Helton among USC’s boosters and fans, Swann elected to keep the embattled coach. Nine months ago, Swann gave a contract extension through 2023 to Helton, who is 32-17 in his first head coaching job.

Helton’s Trojans won the Rose Bowl two seasons ago to cap a nine-game winning streak, and they won the Pac-12 title last season. But USC lost five of its final six games this season, capped by back-to-back losses to archrivals UCLA and Notre Dame.

Illinois gives Smith extension: Illinois has extended the contract of coach Lovie Smith for two years through 2023 after the Illini finished his third season with four victories. The former NFL head coach who led the Bears to the Super Bowl is 9-27 in three seasons with the Illini and 4-23 in the Big Ten.

But there were clear signs of progress this season for an inexperienced team that went 2-10 and winless in the Big Ten in 2017. Smith’s original deal was for six years and $21 million.