Turner Gill to take over Liberty job

By John TaylorDec 15, 2011, 9:07 AM EST

A little less than three weeks after getting axed after just two seasons at Kansas, Turner Gill is about to take a step down to get back up on the head-coaching horse.

Gill interviewed for the vacancy at Div. 1-AA (FCS) Liberty University Wednesday and, after being offered the job, accepted it late last night. The Lynchburg News & Advance reports that Gill was the only candidate to actually visit the campus.

The school, founded by Jerry Falwell in 1971, confirmed Gill’s hiring in a press release, announcing a 1 p.m. ET press conference today to officially introduce their new coach.

“Liberty is tremendously blessed to welcome Turner Gill as our new head football coach,” athletic director Jeff Barber. “As we conducted this search during the past nine days, his name was recommended to us over and over from coaches and athletics directors from around the country as the right man to lead our football program. Turner embraces all that Liberty is and stands for and it will be a privilege to work alongside him as we continue to move our football program forward.”

Gill spent two seasons with the Jayhawks after seeing his coaching stock rise during a five-year stint at Buffalo of the MAC. The 49-year-old Gill has a 25-49 career coaching mark, including a 5-19 record at KU.

It appears, though, the kind of person Gill is off the field was as important as just about anything he’s done on the football field.

“In our search for a new head football coach, almost every advisor recommended Turner Gill,” Liberty president and chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said in a statement. “Every indication is that he is a perfect fit for Liberty University. His experience is at the level where we would like to take our football program. His Christian faith is strong and sincere and what any new recruit would expect to see in a Liberty University head football coach. I think Liberty University and Turner Gill were made for each other.”

Gill will be charged with replacing the most successful head coach in the history of the Flames football program. Danny Rocco, who left earlier this month for the head-coaching job at Richmond, was 47-20 in six years at the school, winning four Big South Conference titles to his credit.

Miami fires offensive coordinator Josh Gattis after 1 season

Associated PressJan 28, 2023, 12:24 AM EST

Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Miami fired offensive coordinator Josh Gattis on Friday, ending the former Broyles Award winner’s time with the Hurricanes after only one season.

The school announced the move in a one-sentence press release, with no other detail: “Josh Gattis has been relieved of his duties as offensive coordinator, Miami head football coach Mario Cristobal announced Friday,” read the release, sent from a university spokesman.

The Hurricanes went 5-7 in Gattis’ lone season. He was brought in by Miami only a few weeks after winning the 2021 Broyles Award – given to the nation’s top assistant coach – while serving as Michigan’s offensive coordinator and helping the Wolverines reach the College Football Playoff.

But Miami’s offense, for a number of reasons, failed to meet expectations in 2022. Part of that was injuries; starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke battled a shoulder injury, and the Hurricanes turned to Jake Garcia – who has since transferred – and Jacurri Brown for much of the season.

Miami scored 100 points in its first two games last fall, overpowering Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss. The Hurricanes averaged only 18.3 points the rest of the way, and finished the year 5-0 in games where the defense allowed no more than 14 points – but 0-7 when opponents scored more than 14.

Miami was 86th nationally in total offense last season, averaging 367.1 yards per game, and 97th in scoring offense.

Gattis played at Wake Forest and worked at North Carolina, Western Michigan, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Alabama and Michigan before coming to Miami.

Audit: LSU discovered $1M overpayment to Kelly in 2022

Associated PressJan 26, 2023, 12:27 AM EST

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU accidentally overpaid Tigers football coach Brian Kelly by $1 million during the first year of a 10-year, $100 million contract, but discovered the error and has moved to correct it, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office said Wednesday.

Kelly was overpaid $1,001,368 in supplemental payments in 2022 because duplicate payments made both to Kelly’s LLC and to the coach directly.

The double payments began in May and continued until LSU officials detected the errors in November.

“LSU management and the head football coach have enacted an adjusted payment schedule so the amount of overpayment will be recouped by the conclusion of fiscal year 2023,” the Legislative Auditor’s report stated.

Kelly, who previously coached at Notre Dame for 12 seasons, was hired by LSU after the 2021 season, when the Tigers went 6-7 for its first losing season since 1999.

LSU exceeded expectations in Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge, winning the SEC West Division and finishing 10-4 after a 63-7 victory over Purdue in the Citrus Bowl.