Georgia Southern fires head football coach Chad Lunsford, announces interim coach

Georgia Southern has fired football coach Chad Lunsford after a 1-3 start in his fourth full season as the head football coach, Director of Athletics Jared Benko announced Sunday evening in Statesboro.

Lunsford had led the Eagles to a 28-21 overall record in four-plus seasons after being named interim head coach on Oct. 22, 2017. The Eagles — who have been to three straight bowl games, winning two — have lost three consecutive games including 28-20 to Louisiana on Saturday night in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.

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"After a thorough review and evaluation of our football program, I have made a decision that a change in leadership is in the best interest of our team and University,” Benko said in a news release. “I want to thank Coach Lunsford for his hard work and the impact he has had on the student-athletes within our program. I wish Chad and his family success in the future.”

Benko is scheduled to meet with media on Monday afternoon. Cornerbacks coach Kevin Whitley will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season, and also will be at the news conference.

Third-quarter troubles continue:Georgia Southern falls to Louisiana for 3rd straight loss

Longtime part of GS program

Lunsford, 44, was in his 13th season overall with Georgia Southern, where he had been an assistant in various capacities from 2003-06 and from 2013 until he became interim coach. He was named the 10th full-time head coach in the modern era of the program on Nov. 27, 2017.

The native of Elberton is very familiar with the Southeast region, having started as a student assistant at Georgia Military College in 1996 before becoming an assistant coach there until 2000, then again in 2007-09. 

He also was an assistant at Appalachian State (2001-03), Griffin High School (2006-07) and Auburn (2009-13).

Lunsford knows the history and expectations in Statesboro, and referenced them in what turned out to be his final press conference as the head coach on Saturday night after the home loss to a two-touchdown favorite in Louisiana.

"Our guys understand the expectation at Georgia Southern," Lunsford said. "They understand that losing is really not an option here, especially at home. When they get recruited and have them here, we teach them that. That's the expecatation. That's the standard. If it doesn't work out, we understand what we're going to go up against."

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He was he was "heartbroken" that all of the effort put in by the players in practice during the week did not result in a victory.

"When I go in there (the locker room) and I talk to those guys, and they've emptied the tank all week long to get ready to play that game and give themselves a chance to win, but then don't, I think you've got to be smart with them, 'Hey look, we lost, it sucks, it sucks at Georgia Southern to lose," he said. "We're going to feel that pressure. That's the way it's going to be.

"But we can't lose sight of what we did working to prepare for the game and then look at the game and go, 'What could we have done better here? What could we have gotten better at that could have won this football game?' Because if we just fold up shop, say, 'Hey, we lost, everybody hates us' and all that type of stuff, then we're not going to win any games. So I think it's important they understand the way they prepared, the way they got ready for this game, was good. Didn't win. Didn't win. Got to go back to work, and work even harder. I'll say this, nobody cares. Work harder. Isn't that what all the young dudes say? That's what we've got to do."

Outside pressure

Last Monday, following a 45-10 loss at then-No. 20 Arkansas on Sept. 18, Lunsford was asked about the noise getting louder outside the program with each loss. GS had fallen 38-6 at Florida Atlantic a week earlier. He said it was OK, part of being a college football coach. He wouldn't want an apathetic fan base.

"I'm a man of faith," Lunsford said on Sept. 20. "I feel that my steps are ordered. I feel that God has a plan for me. God has a plan for my family. So why worry about things that you don't control? I control how we practice. I control the different things we do at practice. We control the depth chart. We control who plays. I have to focus on the things that I do have control over.

"If the product on the field is not to the liking of our fan base, they have every right to get upset about it," he continued. "We're a form of entertainment. We're a production. That's my job. It's our job to go out there and perform for our fan base. For them to get upset, thank you. Because if you're part of a group that doesn't care, that doesn't want you to be great, that doesn't want you to win championships, I don't want to be there."

Lunsford, the married father of three children, said he wouldn't let negativity affect him.

"I'm not defined by football," he said. "I love football. I love to win. I love to compete. I don't want to lose. I probably hate losing more than I love winning, but it's not going to define my life. If people don't like that, it is what it is, man. I've got one person to please, and that's God, my savior, and that's what I'm going to do. So that's why I'm a positive guy."

Whitley's background

Whitley, 51, is a former Georgia Southern All-American and professional player in his third season as the cornerbacks coach under Lunsford. He spent the previous decade as a highly successful high school coach in the Atlanta area.

According to his Georgia Southern biography, Whitley compiled a 99-28 overall record with five region titles over 10 years at Stockbridge High School, four of which were in a row from 2014-17. Stockbridge had never won a playoff game prior to his arrival.

He also coached at Creekside and North Springs high schools as a head coach, and Redan as a defensive backs coach.

In 18 seasons as a high school head coach in Georgia, he compiled a record of 160-55 (.744), winning seven region championships

A native of Decatur, Whitley earned honorable mention All-America honors for the Eagles in 1991 from the Football Gazette after posting 48 tackles, to interceptions and six pass break-ups. Whitley played at Georgia Southern from 1988-1991 as a four-year starter, helping lead the Eagles to two of their six FCS national championships.

He went on to play professionally for four years, signing a free-agent contract in the NFL with the New England Patriots and later in the CFL for the Toronto Argonauts as a defensive back. He was named the Rookie of the Year for the Argonauts in 1993.

Game preview:GS seeks to snap losing skid, start Sun Belt play at 1-0 against Louisiana

Georgia Southern, which has not sustained at the FBS level anywhere close to the level of success it had as an FCS program, competes in the Sun Belt Conference. Perennial SBC power Appalachian State has been joined at the top level by Louisiana and, since last season, Coastal Carolina, No. 16 in The Associated Press poll released Sunday.

Georgia Southern also announced it will launch a national search for its next head football coach, and will not comment about the search until the process is complete.

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz