JOURNAL SPORTS
GRAMBLING – The turbulence around Grambling State football continued Tuesday when athletics director Trayvean Scott said former NFL head coach Hue Jackson has been fired as head coach of the once-proud Tigers’ program.
Jackson managed only an 8-14 record over his two seasons at Grambling, including a 5-6 campaign that just concluded with a 27-22 loss to Southern on Saturday in the Bayou Classic at the Caesars’ Superdome.
“I hadn’t slept much over the past couple days — really since Saturday, just kind of been thinking and really pulling as much data and information as possible to try and make the best, informed decision,” said Scott. “We had a conversation with the president yesterday and had some things to consider, and really this morning, I knew it was time to move the football program forward.”
Scott said it all boiled down to responsibility and accountability.
“You got to make the decision long-term for all involved. That’s why we made the decision and why we’re moving forward,” he said in an afternoon press conference.
Scott said there wasn’t one specific reason behind the decision but a combination of factors that told GSU officials it was time to make a change. Some – not all — assistant coaches were also terminated Tuesday.
“Not any loss had to do with it, it was a culmination of things. But I think when you’ve got the opportunity to make it a national championship caliber program, and you underachieve, you’ve got to take it all into account. So I wouldn’t say it was one specific game or one specific occurrence, I would just say that it’s the sum total of them all that obviously we don’t have time for and just to be honest, I probably wouldn’t discuss if we did.”
Scott said he doesn’t expect the search process to be a long one.
“We’re looking at about 7-10 days,” Scott said. “I think that search has to be very intentional — very focused on certain attributes and specific characteristics that we want the next coach to have.”
Scott said at this point, the job is open to anyone capable of turning around the program, which hasn’t had a winning record since 2019’s 6-5 mark under Broderick Fobbs. He took over after a players’ strike cancelled a 2013 game at Jackson State, and steered the Tigers to 51 wins and only 21 losses in his first six seasons until the COVID pandemic struck. GSU went 4-10 under Fobbs in those next two seasons and he was let go before the 2021 Bayou Classic.
The fact that Early National Signing Day is December 20 is a compelling factor in the search timeline.
Scott said retained coaching staff members, including assistant coach and now interim head coach John Simon, will be considered.
“Coach Simon does have an opportunity to earn that position as well,” Scott said. “We’re looking forward to it, and that process is going to begin when I leave here, and I’ll start pooling resources and do what we need to do to identify the next leader for the program.”
Scott admitted it was painful to contemplate the decision, and to deliver the news.
“It’s tough,” Scott said of his conversation with Jackson. “It’s tough. It was a tough conversation to have. It was a tough conversation to have with those others (coaches who were fired) as well. It was a tough conversation to have with those 120 (GSU football players) as well.
“It’s been a day. It’s not been a good day. But again, we’ve got to make the decisions that are in the best interest of the institution, the program and our students. That’s our North Star right now and that’s the way we’re going to move.”
Scott also cleared up Jackson’s contract status, saying the coach would be paid only for the remainder of the ongoing fiscal year, and that talk of GSU owing Jackson a full four seasons’ worth of pay to close out the books after his second, and last, season as head coach isn’t true.
“I think that’s the greatest misnomer of all of it,” Scott said. “His contract is public record. Anyone with two eyes could see that the first two years of his contract were guaranteed. So this $800,000 bill they’re trying to tack us with is just a fallacy.”