Rutgers fires basketball coach Eddie Jordan, still owes him $2.1 million

Eddie Jordan’s tenure has come to an end at Rutgers. After three seasons and a .299 winning percentage, the Scarlet Knight alumnus was fired by the university on Thursday.

In the Scarlet Knights’ two seasons as a member of the Big Ten, Jordan’s team won just three conference games: over Penn State, versus a depleted Minnesota team and somehow against a then-No. 4 Wisconsin team in 2015. An examination of Ken Pomeroy’s rankings and the team’s record proved Rutgers wasn’t just bad, but historically bad this winter. In all, the Knights won only 29 games during Jordan’s three-year tenure.

Jordan’s position in Piscataway was his fourth stop as a head coach. He had spent nine seasons at the helm of three different NBA teams -- the Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers -- before returning to his alma mater in 2013. The veteran leader was seen as a splashy hire when he came back to the college ranks. While he was modestly paid at $1.15 million annually, he was due for a significant raise if he were still employed by the team by April. The program’s decision to cut Jordan loose will save the university an extra $400,000 in scheduled bonuses this season, but it comes at a price.

In terms of buyout alone, Rutgers will pay Jordan more than $72,000 per win. Break it down by conference wins, and it comes out to more than $262,000 per league victory.