Georgia Southern back in coaching search mode

STATESBORO -- When Tulane hired Northern Iowa athletics director Troy Dannen as its new athletics director on Dec. 4, it was described as a hire out of left field.

Dannen made another "move out of left field" one week after his hiring when he tapped Georgia Southern head coach Willie Fritz as the Green Wave's new football head coach.

It was no secret there would be interest from other schools in Fritz after the success he had in a four-year run at Sam Houston State (40-15), and the past two years at Georgia Southern, where he was 17-7 with a Sun Belt championship. At Tulane, he replaces Curtis Johnson, who was fired after going 15-34 the past four years while making $926,000 a year.

Fritz was making $500,000 at Georgia Southern, and the school began to renegotiate his contract after the Eagles beat Texas State on Oct. 29 to become bowl eligible for the first time in program history. Georgia Southern (8-4) will play Mid-American Conference champion Bowling Green (10-3) in the GoDaddy Bowl at 8 p.m. on Dec. 23 in Mobile, Alabama.

It was, obviously, a whirlwind courtship.

Per newspaper reports in Louisiana, the Green Wave athletics director contacted Fritz and his agent early in the week. They met in New York on Thursday and announced the hiring Friday. The job will reportedly pay $1.2 million per year.

Fritz will not coach the Eagles in their bowl game. On Saturday, Georgia Southern athletics director Tom Kleinlein named running backs coach Dell McGee the interim head coach.

Tulane is a member of the American Athletic Conference, which also includes Houston, Memphis, Navy, Temple, South Florida, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Tulsa and Southern Methodist. Central Florida recently hired Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost at $1.7 million per year with a five-year contract. Houston just bumped Tom Herman to $3 million per year, and East Carolina is looking to hire a new head coach with a seven-figure contract -- all much higher than what Georgia Southern and other Sun Belt programs are paying.

Fritz, 55, told reporters that the offer was one he couldn't say no to. He said he thought one of his selling points was his proven ability to turn programs around with immediate effect.

He is 180-75-1 as a head coach. Tulane is 67-131 under three head coaches since going 13-0 in 1998 under Tommy Bowden.

Several of Fritz's staff members, including offensive coordinator Doug Ruse, were with him at Sam Houston State. Defensive coordinator Jack Curtis was a holdover from Jeff Monken's staff. Monken is in his second year at Army.

Georgia Southern players, who ended their season with a stunning 34-7 loss to Georgia State at home on Dec. 5, scattered this week after completing final exams and are scheduled to return to campus on Sunday to begin bowl practice. Kleinlein said he would meet with players Sunday evening.

Compounded with the loss to the Panthers, the Eagles players must now deal with the loss of their head coach while preparing for the Falcons, who are an early touchdown favorite.

Despite the loss to Georgia State and the coaching change, some Georgia Southern players see the potential for some positives as they prepare for their bowl game.

In an interview before he headed home to Tallahassee, Florida, and not knowing his head coach was in negotiations for another job, senior defensive back Matt Dobson reflected on his career and the opportunity the bowl game will give the Eagles to gain some redemption for the loss to Georgia State.

"It's very special," Dobson said of the bowl bid. "We've been through a lot since I've been here.

"We couldn't go to the playoffs after my sophomore year. Last year we won the Sun Belt, but couldn't go to a bowl. So, this getting another opportunity to show we're better means a lot."

Dobson, a first team FBS Academic All-America, is proud of the fact he's a member of the first Georgia Southern bowl team and the legacy he and the 20 Eagles seniors are leaving.

"There are many things I'm proud of about my career here," Dobson said. "One is maintaining the winning tradition while moving from FCS to FBS. That's something to be extremely proud of.

"In my four years here, we were 22-3 at home. You can go anywhere in the country and not find anything like that.

"The big reason I came here was to win championships. I had the opportunity to go to some already established FBS programs, but they didn't have the winning tradition we had. It was all about winning."

In the past four years, the Eagles have gone 34-15, including Sun Belt and Southern Conference championships.

One of those wins, of course, was the season-ending game at Florida in 2013 when the Eagles stunned the Gators 26-20 for the their first-ever win against an FBS team.

In addition to the success on the field, the Georgia Southern program has grown externally, too, with the expansion of the stadium and the construction of the football operations center, which is a state-of-the-art facility that includes a plush players' locker room.

"When I came here, our locker room was in the old gym," Dobson said. "We had concrete floors, no carpet, and metal lockers. The weight room wasn't that good.

"Now we've got that beautiful new building, and adding the deck on the stadium makes it stand out even more. Another big change is the players we're recruiting. They're bigger, faster and stronger."

As to the Eagles' program, Dobson believes its best days lie ahead, beginning with the bowl game.

"The thing about the move to FBS is Georgia Southern has become known nationwide," Dobson said. "The next five years, everyone is going to know about this place. Winning the bowl game would be a great start."

Telegraph writer Ron Seibel contributed to this report from Macon.

This story was originally published December 12, 2015 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Georgia Southern back in coaching search mode ."