Alcorn State football coach Ernest T. Jones has been fired days after filing a lawsuit seeking the reinstatement of seven assistant coaches, his attorney said Thursday.
Attorney Wayne Ferrell said the firing was detailed in a letter from the university.
“It is pretty bad. It is in a letter that I’m not at liberty to disclose at this time. We think they are frivolous charges,” Ferrell said.
Alcorn State athletic director Darren Hamilton told The Associated Press he had no comment.
Alcorn went 2-10 this season in Jones’ first year. The Braves lost six games by a touchdown or less and lost four times in the final minute. Alcorn was 2-8 in 2007 under former coach Johnny Thomas.
The firing was latest development in a series of events that began Thanksgiving Day when Hamilton declined to renew the one-year contracts for seven assistant coaches. Hamilton has refused to discuss why the coaches were fired.
“State law doesn’t require me to provide a reason,” Hamilton said on Dec. 3. “I have rules that I must follow in terms of state regulations.”
Alcorn State president George Ross has not commented on Hamilton’s decision.
The coaches fired were defensive coordinator Earnest Collins Jr., offensive coordinator Dino Dawson, running backs coach Terrance Robinson, defensive line and linebackers coach Zach Shay, defensive backs coach Jack Phillips, special teams coach Keith Majors and strength and conditioning coach Lorenzo Guess.
After the firings, Jones hired Ferrell and another attorneys to challenge Hamilton’s decision.
“We filed a lawsuit on Friday afternoon asking for a temporary restraining order to refrain Alcorn from firing those coaches and they were reinstated on Monday,” Ferrell said Thursday.
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