Could Rutgers be firing its head coach, too?
Not sure how I missed this one, but Rutgers appears to be on the verge of looking for a new head coach.
How exactly Fred Hill and the Scarlet Knights got to this point is much more interesting than it might sound.
In case you didn’t know – and my guess is, you didn’t – Rutgers is bad at basketball. At least it has been since Hill became the coach four seasons ago (although, in his defense, the Knights weren’t that great before Hill got there).
In those four years, Hill has led Rutgers to a 44-77 record, and 13-57 in Big East play. The only reason the Knights have made the Big East Tournament the last two seasons is because the conference expanded it two years ago to include every team.
Sounds like reason enough to fire a coach, right? But Rutgers wasn’t going to because it would have had to pay a buyout in order to do so.
And then came a series between the Rutgers and Pitt baseball teams the first three days of April. Hill, whose father Fred Hill, Sr., is the baseball coach, attended the games and became upset when Pitt coach Joe Jordano protested a call. The younger Hill, who happened to be standing in front of the Rutgers dugout, hurled a few obscenities in Jordano’s direction.
Maybe not a big deal in the long run, but Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti told the younger Hill to stop attending baseball games. And then Pernetti found Hill at a game, two days later.
The school investigated and now believes it had reason to fire Hill with cause, which means it wouldn’t have to pay his buyout. Instead of just doing that, Rutgers offered a settlement that, so far, Hill has balked at. He reportedly has until Monday to decide.
With a record as bad as Hill’s, Rutgers should have taken the opportunity to fire the coach a month ago. Rutgers should be thankful for a second chance.