First college football head coach of 2018 is fired
It took just seven weeks for the first college football head coach to be fired in 2018.
On Sunday, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported that Bowling Green fired head coach Mike Jinks following the team’s 1-6 start to the season. The Falcons suffered their fourth straight loss on Saturday, falling 42-35 to Western Michigan.
Per Feldman, defensive coordinator Carl Pelini will become the interim head coach.
#BowlingGreen has fired head coach Mike Jinks. DC Carl Pelini will become the interim HC.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) October 14, 2018
Jinks was in his third season with the program but never had much success. In 31 games, he posted a 7-24 record and was just 5-14 in MAC play. This season, the Falcons were off to an 0-3 start against conference opponents.
“I want to thank Coach Jinks for all of his efforts with our football program and in the BG community,” athletics director Bob Moosbrugger said. “However, we felt it was time to make a change in leadership. These are not easy decisions and we do not take this lightly. This affects 11 coaching families, 112 student-athletes and numerous support staff. We wish Mike and his family the best in their future endeavors.”
Jinks was named the head coach at Bowling Green prior to the start of the 2016 season. In his first year, the Falcons finished 4-8. Last year, the team was just 2-10.
Pelini was in his first season as the defensive coordinator for BGSU. He previously spent time at Nebraska, where he was the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach under his brother Bo Pelini from 2008-2011.
Before joining the staff at Bowling Green, Pelini was at Youngstown State where he was again on his brother’s staff.