Buffalo fires head football coach Jeff Quinn

Buffalo fired head football coach Jeff Quinn Monday evening.

Quinn’s four-plus-year, 56-game tenure concluded less than 48 hours after Buffalo’s 37-27 loss to Eastern Michigan Saturday, dropping the team’s record to 3-4 this season. Quinn went 20-36 as head coach of the Bulls. Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Alex Wood has been promoted to interim head coach and will finish the season.

Quinn has not spoken publicly since the announcement and did not return The Spectrum’s request for an interview, but did send a statement.

This is Buffalo’s eighth coaching change since Athletic Director Danny White assumed his position in 2012. Quinn will earn at least one year’s base salary, $250,000, for the contract buyout, according to Article VI of his contract. He could receive up to $525,000 through 2017 from the university if he remains unemployed and is actively searching for a job, according to his contract. UB Athletics did not make players available for comment. Athletic Director Danny White was also unavailable for comment.

“We all know how much coach Quinn cared about our program. He was passionate about it,” said former Buffalo wide receiver Fred Lee. “Whether he was yelling or screaming or whatever he always loved you up, was there for you outside of the game. That’s the kind of person he was. So to see him go makes me sick to my stomach to know that just like that things can happen but it’s coaching and that’s how it works.”

Quinn became head coach of the Bulls in 2010 after former head coach Turner Gill accepted the same position at Kansas University after the 2009 season. Quinn inherited a program two years removed from its only MAC Championship in 2008 and coming off a 5-7 season in 2009.

Quinn worked with current Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly for 21 years and served as offensive coordinator at Cincinnati under Kelly before accepting the head coaching vacancy at Buffalo.

“I am grateful for all the love and support my wife Shannon, two sons Kyle and Ryan, my parents, entire Quinn and Rantis families, our dear friends, and fans have given me during my time leading the University at Buffalo Football Program,” Quinn said in a press release. “We have poured our hearts and souls into this football program and community.”

White announced a five-year contract extension for Quinn in November 2012. Neither White nor Quinn signed the deal until August 2013. President Satish Tripathi finalized the contract Sept. 11, 2013. Quinn was due $1.625 million through the 2017 season.

“It is with great disappointment that we have to make this change,” White said in a press release. “Unfortunately, the performance on the field this season and over Coach Quinn’s tenure has not matched our expectations for the growth of Bulls football.”

The Bulls are on a bye week, leaving the coaches and athletes time to “make the changes needed to improve,” White said.

White said he hopes the firing “shifts the course” of the rest of the season.

“On behalf of UB Athletics, I thank Jeff for his service to the University and to the football program,” White said. “Jeff and his wife, Shannon, have been great supporters of the University at Buffalo. We wish them well in their future pursuits.”

Quinn’s contract included an annual “$75,000 for media work, fundraising and apparel deals,” according Article V of his contract. Other bonuses included $15,000 for a conference regular season championship, $25,000 for a conference championship, $15,000 for a bowl game appearance and $20,000 for a bowl game victory.

The contract also featured other team-based incentives such as $5,000 for the sixth win of the season and $2,500 for every win afterward. He also would earn $5,000 for a victory against a team ranked in the top 25 and $7,500 every time home attendance reached at least 15,000 people.

Other perks included two dealer cars or $800 a month, 15 tickets and a suite for his family for home games and the option for a two-year extension after the 2014 season.

Quinn was the lowest paid coach in the MAC in 2013, according to USA Today.

White extended Quinn’s contract before the final game of the 2012 season, when the coach’s record was just 9-26. The Bulls had one of their most successful seasons in program history in 2013, however, finishing 8-5 with six MAC wins and earning a trip to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl game.

Although the Bulls have had offensive success this season, scoring at least 35 points in five of seven contests, the team as a whole has struggled. Buffalo’s defense ranks amongst the worst in the country and has played close games against teams that were perceived to be inferior opponents.

White scheduled two games against Football Championship Subdivision teams and no road games against top-25 programs this season. Buffalo also hosted three of its four nonconference games to begin the season. Several former players said White put Quinn in position to win this year with a soft schedule.

“Danny White loaded up the schedule at the beginning of the year to have a winning record at this point,” said former wide receiver Alex Neutz. “We can’t digress. We got to keep moving forward.”

Former Buffalo players who spoke to The Spectrum had differing opinions on White’s decision to fire Quinn. Some said the move was justified, while others said Quinn deserved more time.

Former Buffalo tight end Alex Dennison said the decision to fire Quinn was “kind of foolish,” but also said players on the team had mixed views on Quinn as a coach.

“With 105 people on a team, everyone is going to have something different to say,” Dennison said. “Everybody’s experience is unique.”

Neutz said some of Quinn’s decisions, like the removal of former wide receiver Rudy Johnson from the team, made some Bulls “lose respect” for Quinn. Johnson missed 2013 summer workouts due to accepting internships in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.

“If the players don’t truly buy into what the coach is preaching, you can’t really have a winning formula,” Neutz said.

Some former players also said last year’s team, despite winning eight games and receiving a bowl invitation, should have achieved more.

“We had a good record, but at the same time we should have been better,” Neutz said. “We had a running back who is dominating the NFL right now, we have a top five draft pick and we have other guys who have gotten NFL tryouts. We didn’t go to a MAC championship game. We got blown out in a bowl game.”

The team lost 24-7 to Bowling Green at Ralph Wilson Stadium in what was essentially a MAC East championship game in 2013. The Bulls fell three weeks later to San Diego State 49-24 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Several key seniors last season – like current NFL players Khalil Mack and Branden Oliver, as well as Neutz and Lee – were recruited to Buffalo by Gill. The 2014 season was the first year no players on the Bulls had previously played under Gill. Former players who spoke to The Spectrum questioned how Quinn would replace last season’s stars.

“Last year was a great season but the big question going into this year was what’s coach Quinn going to do now without coach Gill’s recruits,” said a former Bulls player who wished to remain anonymous. “How’s his recruits going to play out?”

Buffalo has had some of the worst recruiting classes in the MAC throughout Quinn’s tenure, according to Rivals.com – a recruiting information website through Yahoo Sports.

The Bulls’ 2010 recruiting class ranked No. 10 of 13 teams in the MAC by the website. Buffalo finished two of the next four years as the worst ranked recruiting class in the conference. The Bulls’ 2012 class ranked No. 121 in the nation and No. 123 in 2013.

Student-athletes experienced academic success off the field under Quinn. Buffalo lost 10 scholarships form 2004-07 due to a low NCAA Academic Progress Rate – a score that calculates a team’s retention of eligible student athletes. Quinn guided the Bulls to one of the best scores in team history for the 2012-13 season, with an APR score of 976.

Buffalo went 5-23 on the road during Quinn’s four-plus seasons at UB and finished just 1-9 against MAC West opponents. Buffalo did not win a game against a top-25 ranked opponent under Quinn, but had two close performances against Georgia in 2012 and Ohio State in 2013 that gave the program national recognition.

UB Athletics said they will conduct a national search for next season’s coach.

“Danny White is looking to make a splash,” Dennison said. “He’s got some high-level coaches in their respective sports. It’s going to be interesting with the decision he will make.”

Jordan Grossman contributed reporting to this story

This post has been updated with additional information.

email: sports@ubspectrum.com