A bizarre situation appears to be developing within the Navy football program.
Saturday night, Navy announced that longtime offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper had been fired. The news was pretty shocking for the college football world, as Jasper has been with the program for a long time.
Navy’s decision to fire the offensive coordinator came after Saturday’s 23-3 loss to Air Force.
The Capital has learned that longtime @NavyFB offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper was fired immediately following Saturday’s 23-3 loss to Air Force. https://t.co/e3xuJCKwqZ pic.twitter.com/LbTxq5iGMu
— Bill Wagner (@BWagner_CapGaz) September 12, 2021
Monday afternoon, we got an update on the story.
According to Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo, the decision to fire Jasper was made by the school’s athletic director.
“He wasn’t happy with the way things transpired and he’s the leader of the department,” the head coach announced.
It’s pretty bizarre for an athletic director to mandate the in-season firing of an assistant coach for performance reasons. The story isn’t over yet, though.
Niumatalolo announced that Jasper has since been brought back. He won’t be the offensive coordinator, however – instead, he’ll coach quarterbacks.
Niumatalolo now says Jasper is back on the staff coaching QBs, after Niumatalolo asked Gladchuk to reconsider.
“We have a better chance if he’s with us. … Losing him was not the right answer.”
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 13, 2021
Jasper had been the program’s offensive coordinator since 2008. Now, he’ll work on the staff in a different role.
It’s certainly an odd situation.
That’s…different.
Jasper had been Navy’s OC since 2008. https://t.co/uGP6fH4vq5
— Brent Sobleski (@brentsobleski) September 13, 2021
This entire thread/situation is so strange https://t.co/WpYRUL5a6G
— Jamie (@JCal_88) September 13, 2021
Fascinating situation within Navy football right now. Pretty bizarre process. https://t.co/ZOOlj3pSHj
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) September 13, 2021
So… AD fired the OC, HC got AD to bring him back and another assistant coach is out due to not getting vaccinated. Totally normal few days. https://t.co/QgGzAKFZOJ
— Aki Halonen (@akihalonen) September 13, 2021
Another assistant coach is reportedly out, too. One of Navy’s assistant coaches is no longer with the program after refusing the vaccine for “religious” reasons.
In more Navy coaching news, offensive assistant Billy Ray Stutzmann says he has been relieved of his duties after his religious exemption request for the COVID vaccine was denied. https://t.co/P1O9xHxU02
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 13, 2021
Navy is off to an 0-2 start this season.
The post College Football World Reacts To Bizarre Situation At Navy appeared first on The Spun.