Tyson Summers has been fired as the head coach of the Georgia Southern football program.
After leading his team to an 0-6 start and surrendering 55-points to a previously winless UMass team, athletic director Tom Kleinlein issued Summers his walking papers.
Yahoo! News is reporting the decision was made official through a statement Kleinlein made following the loss to UMass.
“I thank Tyson and his family for their contributions to Georgia Southern,” athletic director Tom Kleinlein said. “Being the leader of a college football program is more than just coaching games; it’s managing academics and leading 120 young men. Tyson did a great job in areas that the public doesn’t see, but at the end of the day, the results on the field weren’t where we needed them to be as we continue our growth as an FBS program. I wish he and his family all the best moving forward in their future endeavors.”
Georgia Southern got off to an 0-6 start, and was taken to task by the also winless UMass on Saturday. The Georgia Southern Eagles surrendered 28 points in the first quarter and were playing catch up for the rest of the game; the final score was 55-20.
Summers leaves the Georgia Southern program perhaps worse than he found it. After taking over the reins when coach Willie Fritz left to coach at Tulane, Summers couldn’t make any progress with the Eagles at the FBS level.
Despite a lengthy resume that included stints as the defensive coordinator at Colorado State and UCF, his first attempt at head coaching couldn’t have gone much worse.
Kleinlein has named special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Chad Lunsford the team’s interim head coach. Lunsford will lead Georgia Southern into their week seven game against Troy, and handle all of the head coaching duties for the rest of the season.
Can’t get enough of Campus Sports? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay updated with the latest news and exclusive giveaways!
