The David Bailiff era in Houston is over.
Why David Bailiff was fired at Rice, in a 90-second read
The Owls head man is out of a job after a tough end to his tenure in Houston.
Don Wright-USA TODAY Sports
Rice fired Bailiff after a disappointing 1-11 season, and will now look for a new coach in one of the unique jobs in the state of Texas.
Why’s he out?
Bailiff’s program has been on the descent since 2013. The team went 8-5 in 2014, but then 5-7 in 2015 and 3-9 in 2016. The start to the 2017 season season was strange, with Hurricane Harvey leaving the program stranded and travel plans scuttled coming home from the season opener in Australia. The team’s only win of the season against a moribund UTEP squad, and a drubbing at the hands of cross-town Houston wasn’t a good look.
Was this the right move?
It’s hard to argue that Rice needs new blood. It’s been three seasons of downturn for the program, and perhaps a fresh start is what the program needs to rebound and get back atop Conference USA.
Where was he before Rice?
This was only Bailiff’s second college head coaching job. He took Texas State to 11-3 and a Division II semifinal berth. He’s a Texas lifer, with his only job outside of the state coming during a four-year stint at New Mexico. He’s from Dallas, and his ties to the state should serve as a relatively soft landing spot if he chooses to continue in the coaching profession.
It wasn’t all bad, right?
Things had rarely been better for Rice than they were under Bailiff. The two 10-win seasons in 2008 and 2013 were the first the program had had since 1949. The bowl berth in 2008, Bailiff’s second season, was only the second postseason berth since 1961. Bailiff got the program to a rare place, but it was time for a change despite happy times.
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