The Great College Coachout of '96 began innocently enough, with 69-year-old John Ralston announcing his retirement from San Jose State after a career spanning five decades.
"This is the right time for me to call it a career as far as coaching goes," Ralston said back on Oct. 21.Little did he know how much company he'd have. The same day, Kentucky fired Bill Curry - on his 53rd birthday.
Three days later, Jim Sweeney said he would leave Fresno State at season's end after 19 years.
Then the Big Ten jumped in, and four more coaches were out in the course of 13 days: Indiana's Bill Mallory, Purdue's Jim Colletto, Illinois' Lou Tepper and Minnesota's Jim Wacker.
That was just warmup for Monday's mayhem, when five more coaches were canned: Pitt's Johnny Majors, Boston College's Dan Henning, Maryland's Mark Duffner, SMU's Tom Rossley and Oregon State's Jerry Pettibone.
Toss in Lou Holtz's resignation at Notre Dame and Gene Stallings' retirement at Alabama last week, and all of a sudden 20 of 111 major-college coaching jobs are vacant.
And the season still isn't over.
So what gives? Why now?
"I think it tells us the coaching business is becoming more and more stressful, more and more commercial and more and more demanding," said Keith Jackson, ABC's long-time college football broadcaster. "It's time presidents move up and say we're in this for a buck, because that's where we are."
Terry Donahue, who resigned in 1995 after 20 years at UCLA, says there's no method to this season's coaching madness.
"I just think it's coincidence," Donahue said. "There seem to be different reasons for leaving, although I knew what Lou was talking about when the only good reason he gave was that it was the right time to leave. I felt that way, too."
Some, such as Ralston, are simply retiring. Others will leave for a better (translation: higher-paying) job, such as Wyoming's Joe Tiller, who takes over at Purdue.
But most were fired or forced out because they haven't produced a winner, from Arkansas State's John Bobo to Western Michigan's Al Molde.
Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow said that under Duffner - 20-35 in five seasons - the Terrapins "consistently underachieved."
"The football staff needs to accept responsibility for these last five years," she said. "We have carefully weighed the future of the Terrapin football program. To be candid, going 6-5 or 5-6 year-in and year-out are not acceptable records for us. We think we can win seven or eight games consistently and be a bowl contender on a regular basis."
That's what every school thinks. And when winning doesn't occur quickly enough, no matter how well a coach fares in every other facet of the job, he's a goner.
OPENINGS GALORE: Last year, there were only nine Division I-A coaching changes, and schools were not as rushed to find replacements. Not this year. In addition to the I-A openings, there were no fewer than six coaching vacancies in I-AA, including one at Yale.
"We want to make a quick decision, but we want to make the right decision," Pitt AD Steve Pederson said moments after Johnny Majors stepped down. "We're going to get the right person for the long term. There are a lot of jobs open, but I like to think there is only one great job open."
HEY, MR. COOPER: One of the best story lines of the postseason will involve Ohio State coach John Cooper at the Rose Bowl.
His Buckeyes seem to win nearly every game except the really important ones. He's 1-7-1 against Michigan, and the last two losses prevented his team from having unbeaten seasons and shots at the national title. He's also 1-6 in bowl games.
Funny thing, because it was much the same when he coached Arizona State from 1985-87. The Sun Devils were 0-2-1 against chief rival Arizona, but managed a 2-1 bowl mark under Cooper.
FACTS & FIGURES: Washington's Corey Dillon tied the Pac-10 record for rushing TDs with 22. He shares the mark with USC Heisman Trophy winners Marcus Allen and O.J. Simpson. . . . Cal quarterback Pat Barnes set Pac-10 records with 3,416 yards in total offense and 31 TD passes.