Jackson State Fires Harold Jackson as Football Coach
Big news from the SWAC; Jackson State University has fired head football coach Harold Jackson mid-season.
Jackson spoke about staying Monday night.
“We want them to still keep their heads up. We don’t (want) nobody getting down. Like I said earlier, these guys never quit. No way. So we don’t expect them to quit on us, and they don’t expect to quit on themselves,” he said.
Jackson was hired in January 2014 and posted a 6-11 record with the Tigers. The team is 1-4 this season. Jackson replaced Rick Comegy, who was also fired. Comegy went on to coach at Mississippi Valley State University.
Jackson is a former JSU and NFL player and has coached on the NFL and collegiate levels.
Offensive coordinator Derrick McCall will serve as interim coach, sources said.
The move follows Robert Walker’s resignation last week as athletic director. Jackson State Provost James Renick resigned over the weekend, cheerleading coach Cheryl Shaw was asked to step down and assistant athletic director Nedra Brown also left the university.
Interim Director of Athletics Wheeler Brown said the decision was difficult.
University President Carolyn Meyers emailed the faculty, saying, “Anyone who voluntarily resigns is obviously unhappy and possibly unable to fully commit to the university.”
News of the firing spread quickly across campus.
A few weeks ago, an online petition started, calling on the university to fire Jackson. Some saw the weekend loss as the last straw, and others said they’re surprised Jackson lasted as long as he did.
“A lot of people think he should’ve gone last year after we had such a bad season, so the season started out even worse. So I guess he didn’t answer the bell,” student Zaveon Cooper said.
“If we got to win championships, we got to get the right guy on there to get it done,” student Theodore Hassan said.
The Tigers return to action Oct. 17 against Alabama A&M.
