USF Football Coach Jeff Scott Fired After Three Seasons

In his 35 months as USF football coach, Jeff Scott has overhauled the Bulls’ culture, helped modernize facilities and overhauled the roster with a nationally acclaimed transfer class. He was a fundraising partner at a pivotal time in the program’s history, brought players out of trouble, and was considered a good man in a profession where decency is at a premium.

But the cops fired him Sunday because Scott failed at the most fundamental part of his $2.4 million yearly job: coaching.

Related: Who will replace Jeff Scott as USF football coach?

His 4-26 record spanning more than two seasons is the worst in state history among major college coaches to last more than a year. His teams looked ill-prepared and upset, and Scott looked too much like a first-time college head coach who was never the main player during his time as Clemson’s assistant.

“Even though he did so many things right… results on the pitch fell far short of our standards,” sporting director Michael Kelly said in a statement.

Scott will receive at least $192,000 – 20 weeks of his base salary – as a buyout. This total does not include monies owed by the USF private foundation; his predecessor, Charlie Strong, received about $3.1 million.

Jeff Scott was popular with the USF admins but went 4-26.

[ ARIELLE BADER | Times (2021) ]

The Bulls also fired defensive coordinator Bob Shoop for leading a unit that finished 129th out of 131 teams (39.9 points per game allowed). USF promoted special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato to interim coaching and handed defense to co-coordinator Ernie Sims for the final three games, beginning Saturday against SMU.

They — and whoever the cops hire as Scott’s long-term successor — will seek to revive a program that has become one of the worst in the country.

Since Scott took over ahead of the 2020 season, USF and UMass are the only teams with a Division IA win. Eighteen of Scott’s losses were by at least two points. A dozen were by at least 20 points.

Scott is not solely responsible for the free fall of the program. When the Bulls fired him from Dabo Swinney’s Tigers staff at the end of the 2019 season, he became the USF’s fifth head coach in 12 years. The program has also passed through athletic directors and presidents, making institutional alignment impossible. The Bulls were behind in facilities. Their culture was in shambles.

Scott’s first offseason was cut short because of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, further delaying the turnaround process and excusing a 1-8 inaugural season. But in 2021, Scott entered a new locker room — physically thanks to a $3.3 million renovation and figuratively thanks to roster turnover. USF went 2-10.

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Discover all your possibilitiesJeff Scott had high hopes for USF going into the 2021 season. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

“To my mind, I’m like, ‘Okay, apologies over,'” Kelly said in January after renewing Scott for a two-year term.

That made the performance that season inexcusable and ultimately unforgivable.

The Most Telling Stat: Against IA opponents, Scott’s Bulls were outplayed 206-86 in the first half.

On the first scrimmage of game one that year, USF allowed BYU to jet sweep 75 yards for a touchdown. On the first game of the second half of Scott’s last game, USF allowed Temple to take a pitch from 75 yards for a touchdown. While Scott and his team deserve credit for keeping fighting, the holes were too deep to negotiate.

See also: “Failure is Not an Option” for the USF Bulls’ on-campus football stadium

The simplest explanation is coaching – bad preparation, bad plans, bad calls, or a combination of all three. How else can you explain why a team that ranks No. 65 nationally in terms of talent (according to the 247Sports Composite) ranks somewhere between 108 and 124 in the most advanced metrics?

Any hope of a turnaround faded on Saturday with USF’s seventh straight loss – a 54-28 blowout at AAC bottom feeder Temple. The same Temple team that USF beat for its only IA win last year. Starting Scott’s third of November with a one-sided loss to a first-year staffer was impossible to overcome, no matter how many notable players were injured that fall.

“Unfortunately, our football team’s results have fallen short of our expectations and what our fans deserve,” USF President Rhea Law said in a statement. “We are determined to find a new coach who can rebuild the program and consistently put a successful team on the pitch.”

Jeff Scott tried to rebuild the culture at USF but couldn’t get enough wins. [ SCOTT PURKS | Scott Purks, Special to the Times ]

This coach will likely benefit from some of the work Scott has done. The Bulls will soon begin utilizing the long-awaited indoor practice facility that Scott helped make a reality. The stadium push on campus has also benefited from Scott’s presence.

Scott politely declined a request for comment, but said in a statement that he will miss the team and believes the future of the program is bright.

“I’m disappointed that our hard work hasn’t translated into more success on the field,” said Scott, “but I’m confident we’ve laid a new foundation.”

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