Gene Chizik, Frank Spaziani and Danny Hope received news that many expected was coming. All three were fired after disappointing seasons.
North Carolina State letting go of Tom O'Brien took more than a few people off guard. So did Colorado firing Jon Embree after just two seasons.
Sunday was a tumultuous one around college football, with five coaches losing their jobs to bring the total openings in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision to 12 -- including four in the Southeastern Conference.
Chizik was fired by Auburn after one of the most stunning and dramatic falls in college football history. The Tigers won the second national championship in program history behind Cam Newton in 2010. This season, Auburn finished 3-9 and did not win an SEC game. The Tigers lost the Iron Bowl 49-0 to rival Alabama on Saturday.
"When expectations are not met, I understand changes must be made," Chizik said in a statement.
Chizik was 33-19 overall and 15-17 in SEC games in four seasons.
Hope won't get to coach Purdue's latest bowl game. He went 22-27 in four seasons.
Spaziani's Boston College teams have posted progressively worse records in each of his four seasons. The Eagles went 2-10 this season. He finished 22-29 as the head coach.
N.C. State finished 7-5 this season and 4-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, including an upset of Florida State. Not great, but not all that far away from expectations.
Colorado finished this season 1-11, and Embree was 4-21 in his two seasons since replacing Dan Hawkins. Embree left his job as the Washington Redskins' tight ends coach in December 2010 to accept the Colorado position.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press