COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M defensive coordinator
Carl Torbush was fired on Monday, the first casualty from the
Aggies' disappointing 5-6 season, its second losing record in three
seasons under head coach Dennis Franchione.
Franchione announced the firing in an e-mail Monday afternoon.
Texas A&M's defense was ranked 108th out of 117 Division I-A
schools and its pass defense was the worst in the nation. The
Aggies allowed a whopping 443.82 yards per game and gave up 31.2
points a contest.
"After evaluating our defense, I felt like it was in the best
interest of our football program to make a change at defensive
coordinator," Franchione said in the statement. "I think Carl is
an outstanding person and an excellent coach, but for whatever
reason, we were not effective on defense."
Franchione said he would begin a national search for a
replacement immediately.
The Aggies entered the season ranked 17th in The Associated
Press poll, but lost their opener to Clemson and never entered the
poll again. They lost their final four games of the season,
including an embarrassing 56-17 loss to Texas Tech.
"We didn't get the job done on defense and that was my
responsibility," Torbush said in the release. "I commend the
players for giving great effort and I appreciate the coaches who
continued to work. One thing I thought was evident was this group
refused to quit."
Torbush came to College Station in December 2002 after serving
as Alabama's defensive coordinator for two seasons and served in
that capacity at North Carolina and Ole Miss.
There had been much speculation in recent weeks that Torbush
wouldn't keep his job. This season's defensive downturn was a
marked departure from Texas A&M's performance in the 1990s when the
defense was so ferocious it was called the "Wrecking Crew."
Texas A&M fans have been calling for Torbush's job most of the
year.
Texas A&M finished its season on Friday with a 40-29 loss to No. 2 Texas.