Ron Turner, who previously served as the head coach of the Illinois Illini, and served as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterbacks coach in 2012, will reportedly take over for Mario Cristobal as head coach of the FIU Golden Panthers. ESPN’s Brett McMurphy reported the hiring late Thursday night.
Ron Turner will be new FIU football coach, according to report
Ron Turner, who spent eight years as the head coach at Illinois before time with the Bears, Colts and Buccaneers, will take over at FIU.
Turner takes over a team that went 3-9 in 2012 under program architect Cristobal, who'd delivered FIU's first winning season and first bowl win. The Golden Panthers did win two of their final three games to end the injury-hampered season, but still surprisingly let go of Cristobal.
Earlier reports had pegged former North Carolina Tar Heels coach Butch Davis as the likely replacement at FIU, but Turner, who spent time with the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears before assuming the position with Tampa Bay, will step into the spot.
Turner's eight years at Illinois saw him compile an overall record of 35-57, including a 10-2 season and Big Ten title in 2001. He also twice went 0-8 in the Big Ten.
Turner spent considerable time with the USC Trojans as a quarterbacks and wide receivers coach and with the Stanford Cardinal as quarterbacks coach.
Look through SB Nation’s many excellent college football blogs to find your team’s community.
See More:
More in: FIU coaching search updates
