Purdue Fires Head Coach Danny Hope

Purdue has fired head football coach Danny Hope just two hours after they became bowl-eligible by beating rival Indiana. The decision is likely because, despite being eligible for a bowl game, they believe Hope will not get them to the Rose Bowl

Athletic director Morgan Burke announced the decision to fire Hope shortly after the game, adding that receivers coach Patrick Higgins will be the interim coach for the Boilermakers’ next game, reports USA Today.

The move is no surprise to Purdue University fans, who have become increasingly restless over the school’s football program. The program has been mediocre at best for the past decade, a fact that Burke could no longer live with. He stated:

“Make no bones about it, we want to go to Pasadena. That’s what it’s about. We’ve got to put ourselves in a position to do that.”

Despite Purdue firing head coach Danny Hope, Burke still praised his commitment to try and revive the program that was already sinking when he took over following the 2008 season.

WISH-TV notes that the Boilermakers began the season with a 3-1 record, but were no match for the Big Ten. They won their first 5 conference games for the first time since 1993.

They were able to bounce back, winning their final three games, but the wins weren’t enough to save Hope. The Purdue coach was asked on Saturday about his future with the Boilermakers. He commented:

“Do I expect to be the coach next year? I don’t have any idea but either way I am going to be ok. I have never done any second guessing about my effort and my commitment. I have committed my life to Purdue football for the last four and a half years and sometimes it hasn’t been reciprocated from many others on the outside.”

Unfortunately, it seems that the effort and commitment weren’t enough to save him, leading to Purdue firing coach Danny Hope on Sunday.