While other schools are gearing up for the fast-approaching football season, Kentucky State is looking to hire a new head coach.
Fred Farrier, KSU’s head coach the past four seasons, confirmed he was fired over the weekend - just days before fall workouts began for the 2009 season - in a telephone interview this morning.
“I was notified Saturday afternoon by the new athletic director (Denisha Hendricks),” Farrier said.
Farrier said he was given no reason for his dismissal and that KSU said it did not have to give one.
“It was a shock,” he said. “It was definitely not something I saw coming. I thought we had a great opportunity for a good season in 2009.”
KSU spokeswoman Felicia Lewis said the University had no statement on Farrier’s dismissal.
“The University does not comment on personnel issues,” she said.
Sports information director Ron Braden also said he couldn’t comment. Hendricks was hired as KSU’s director of athletics on July 1.
No new coach has been publicly named, but K-State’s football media day is “tentatively scheduled” for the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 6, according to Braden.
The Thorobreds went 19-25 in four seasons under Farrier, including 3-8 the past two seasons.
“It takes time to build something that has a chance to be a consistent winner,” Farrier said. “Obviously, my contributions weren’t something that they were looking for.
“I feel bad for our kids because I had a very vested interest in those guys and I think they were finally beginning to believe in what we are doing.”
Last week, Kentucky State made headlines for an off-field incident at a Lexington restaurant in which four football players were allegedly involved in the theft of a tip jar.
Farrier said he was unsure whether the incident played a role in his firing, but that the football players involved in the incident were not the perpetrators of the crime.
“I think the bigger issue is our kids making decisions,” he said. “If you truly look at the police report the person that was apprehended was not a member of the team and those members of the team were arrested just for being there.”
Farrier said he was grateful for the opportunity to coach at K-State and expressed no ill will towards the University. He said he is going to spend the coming days living the philosophy he preached to his former players about life and family.
“It’s one of those times where you have to take a step back a little bit,” he said. “As a coach you spend a lot of time in offices raising people’s kids, so I’ve got a wife and two young kids that I have to provide for.”
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