Friday’s game against the East Carolina Pirates might have been the last game for Tulsa Golden Hurricane coach Bill Blankenship.
According to College Football Talk, rumors cropped up Friday night that Blankenship would be dismissed immediately following the game against the Pirates. That was later disputed after Tulsa World’s John Hoover spoke with the university president.
The Golden Hurricane sits at 2-10 on the season, after losing Friday, and are in ninth place in the team’s first season as part of the American Athletic Conference. While Blankenship has been the coach, the team has largely fallen apart in the last two seasons.
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The team finished 3-9 last year and Blankenship is now 24-27 overall after losing on Friday. This year, the Golden Hurricane has been outscored by double digits in eight of their ten losses.
Blankenship had high expectations to contend with as the team went 64-39 from 2003 to 2010 under the direction of Steve Kragthorpe and then Todd Graham. After both coaches accepted higher profile positions elsewhere, Blankenship was given the reins. He was an assistant under Graham, but had not previously coached above high school level before getting that position. He was a former quarterback at Tulsa.
Blankenship’s first two seasons as Tulsa’s coach saw the team going to two straight bowls and a Conference USA championship. However, now he has overseen two straight non-competitive seasons from a team that was gaining a reputation for producing strong offensive football. Blankenship had the following to say about his uncertain future via Tulsa World:
"“I’m Mr. Sunshine on some of that stuff,” said Blankenship. “If you look at our roster and you look at the guys who are making plays there’s a lot to be happy about in terms of what is going to come in the future.”"
Even though the Tulsa president has not made a decision, it’s probably clear which way he’s leaning.
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