What began as a 29-point defeat last week to Cincinnati ended with a pink slip for Jerome Tang, whose public criticism that his players “did not deserve to wear this uniform” prompted Kansas State to deliver its own verdict, dismissing Tang in a matter of just four days.
Athletic director Gene Taylor cited contract language tied to conduct that could “bring embarrassment” to the university in attempting to fire Tang for cause, rather than a decision rooted in the Wildcats’ 1-11 Big 12 record. Tang disputed the grounds for his firing, setting up a potential contractual battle.
“For cause” is the sharpest tool in an athletic department’s drawer, a designation serious enough to void contractual protections. Beyond Tang’s news conference comments, it can stem from alleged criminal conduct, NCAA noncompliance or public behavior administrators decide crosses the line. The firing is often just the opening act, succeeded by grievances, arbitration, settlements or show-cause penalties.
Recent for-cause terminations include the December firings of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore and Ohio football coach Brian Smith. Each instance revives a familiar question: What becomes of a coach once the harshest form of termination is imposed? History offers no uniform outcome. Some reemerge, having benefited from time and details revealed or buoyed by institutions willing to trade reputational risk or accept a messy past for competitive gain. Others spend years boxed out, or discover the exit seems permanent.
Consequential exits in college sports may spring to mind, but some were never formally labeled “for cause,” with some ending in negotiated resignations, others in buyouts or settlements that blurred the outcome into something both sides could tolerate.
The cases below trace some of the most notable instances since the early 2000s of those who returned to coaching after a for-cause firing.
College basketball
Rick Pitino (Louisville, 2017)
The Louisville Athletic Association board voted on Oct. 2, 2017, to initiate the process of terminating Pitino “for cause,” and two weeks later, the university moved to sever ties with its Hall of Fame coach as the program became ensnared in a federal investigation into alleged bribery involving recruits and their families.
Pitino was not charged in the federal complaints and denied knowledge of the scheme and an earlier scandal that included NCAA sanctions resulting from a staffer hiring strippers and escorts for recruiting parties.
Pitino sued Louisville for $38.7 million that November, contending his firing lacked contractual “cause.” Louisville countersued, and the legal sparring ended in a September 2019 settlement that dismissed all claims and awarded Pitino zero compensation.
His coaching comeback came in chapters: first overseas with EuroLeague’s Panathinaikos in December 2018, then back to the college game at Iona in March 2020 before returning to the big time when St. John’s tabbed him as head coach in March 2023.
Will Wade (LSU, 2022)
Less than 48 hours before Selection Sunday, Wade no longer had a team.
On March 12, 2022, LSU fired Wade for cause after receiving a formal Notice of Allegations from the NCAA accusing him of multiple Level I violations, including arranging or facilitating impermissible payments to recruits — allegations that stemmed from federal wiretap recordings made public in 2019 in which Wade discussed a “strong-ass offer” to a prospect.
In June 2023, the NCAA’s infractions process issued penalties that included a two-year show-cause order running through June 2025, restricting his recruiting activities but not barring him from coaching.
Wade was hired in March 2023 at McNeese, which he led last season to the NCAA Tournament. He reflected on the investigation that lost him his job, saying, “It ruined a lot of people’s lives for very little reason.” He’s in his first season at NC State.
Chris Beard (Texas, 2023)
Texas fired Beard in early January 2023, weeks after placing him on unpaid suspension following his arrest on a third-degree felony domestic violence charge. According to police, officers responding to a 911 call alleged Beard strangled, bit and assaulted his fiancée at their home. Beard, who would publicly maintain his innocence, was booked into Travis County Jail and released later that day on $10,000 bond. The university moved to fire him with the case remaining unresolved, prompting immediate questions about contractual language and potential financial obligations tied to a for-cause termination.
Prosecutors later dropped the charge, clearing the way for Beard to reenter the power-conference ranks. By mid-March, Ole Miss brought Beard on board, and he has since compiled a 55-38 record in Oxford
College football
Mike Price (Alabama, 2003)
Fresh off a 14-year stint at Washington State that featured three 10-win seasons and two Rose Bowl trips, Price was tapped by Alabama in December 2002 to replace Dennis Franchione. It was over before it started, the head coach never making it to the sideline.
In April 2003, reports surfaced that Price spent a night at a strip club while at a golf tournament in Florida, allegedly spending heavily on alcohol and private dances. University officials deemed the behavior a violation of Alabama’s standards and morality clause, prompting President Robert Witt to fire Price for cause, citing conduct that could bring the university into “scandal and public contempt.”
Price, who apologized for errors in judgment, sued Alabama for $20 million, but the case was dismissed after a judge ruled that Price never signed his seven-year $10 million contract. He also filed a separate $20 million defamation lawsuit against Time Inc., then the owner of Sports Illustrated.
Price landed at UTEP within a year, coaching from 2004-12 and compiling a 48-68 record with three bowl appearances. Besides a brief return as interim head coach in 2017 and in March 2025, Price has remained retired.
Mike Leach (Texas Tech, 2009)
The Red Raiders suspended Leach on Dec. 28 — as he was preparing to conclude what had been an 8-4 season in the Alamo Bowl — following allegations that he mistreated wide receiver Adam James after a concussion, including sending James into an equipment shed.
Texas Tech fired Leach for cause after he refused to sign a school-drafted apology. Leach counterpunched in court, alleging wrongful termination and reputational harm. Though the litigation dragged on, by August 2010, Leach was back in view as a New York Times bestselling author and CBS Sports analyst.
After being fired by Texas Tech, Mike Leach went on to successful runs at Washington State and Mississippi State. (Jake Crandall / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
On Nov. 30, 2011, Washington State handed Leach another FBS post as the Pac-12’s fourth-highest paid coach. He went 55-47 before helming Mississippi State for the next three seasons. He died at 61 in December 2022 after suffering a heart attack.
Bobby Petrino (Arkansas, 2012)
In April 2012, Petrino was injured in a motorcycle crash and initially told school officials he was riding alone. Investigators later revealed he had been with a 25-year-old former volleyball player Petrino hired onto the football staff, with whom he was having an affair and had given a $20,000 gift. Petrino admitted to the details of the incident after the release of a state police report.
Athletic director Jeff Long concluded Petrino had violated university policy and the terms of his contract by misleading officials and creating conflicts of interest. Labeling Petrino’s conduct “misleading and manipulative,” Long fired Petrino for cause, voided an $18 million buyout and detailed a pattern of misconduct publicly. After elevating Arkansas into an SEC powerhouse — including a 21-5 record his last two seasons — Petrino did not coach in 2012, but roughly eight months later, he resurfaced as Western Kentucky’s head coach. He would return to Louisville for a second stint and later even returned to Arkansas as an offensive coordinator, serving as interim head coach last season. He landed recently as UNC’s offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick.
Steve Sarkisian (USC, 2015)
On Oct. 11, 2015, athletic director Pat Haden placed Sarkisian on indefinite leave amid reports that the head coach, then going through a divorce, had arrived at the football facility appearing intoxicated, violating a reported no-tolerance policy. Sarkisian entered treatment but was fired for cause and later sued the university for wrongful termination. In 2018, however, an arbitrator ruled in USC’s favor.
On Sept. 5, 2016, Alabama and Nick Saban hired Sarkisian as an analyst, and just a few months later, he was designing the Tide’s Saturday scheme as offensive coordinator. He’s been the head coach at Texas since 2021, coming off a 10-3 season capped by a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan.
Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee, 2021)
After three seasons at Tennessee, Pruitt was fired for cause in January 2021, following an internal investigation that concluded multiple assistants and staff had committed violations including impermissible benefits and improper contact with recruits, with inadequate oversight under Pruitt. Tennessee ruled those failures were “likely to lead to significant penalties,” breaching his contract and allowing the school to void a roughly $12.6 million buyout.
In July 2023, the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions substantiated widespread recruiting violations during Pruitt’s tenure and imposed a six-year show-cause order — one of the most severe penalties — limiting his college employment prospects. Pruitt has sued the NCAA for $100 million, claiming he was made to be a “sacrificial lamb.”
Pruitt has not returned to collegiate sidelines. He was not retained after a short-lived role as the New York Giants’ senior defensive analyst in 2021 and has worked at Plainview High School, his alma mater, in Alabama. Jacksonville State, in late 2025, hired him in an analyst role under the constraints of the lingering show-cause order.
Nick Rolovich (Washington State, 2021)
On Oct. 18, 2021 — the state’s deadline for public employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive an approved exemption — Washington State fired Rolovich for cause. He remained unvaccinated and without a granted religious accommodation, a status the university said made continued employment impossible, thereby voiding the remaining years of his contract. Rolovich later sued the school, arguing his exemption was wrongly denied and that his dismissal should not have qualified as “for cause,” but the court ultimately upheld Washington State’s decision.
Less than two years later, Rolovich became offensive coordinator for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. Rolovich then returned to Power 4 football as California’s senior offensive assistant. In the aftermath of Justin Wilcox’s firing on Nov. 23, Rolovich became interim head coach, then a long-term piece of Tosh Lupoi’s staff as quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach.
Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern, 2023)
Fitzgerald — the former All-American linebacker turned Big Ten pillar — watched a tenure decades in the making collapse in the span of days. Initially issued a two-week suspension, he was dismissed in July 2023 after an independent investigation detailed a longstanding hazing culture that included allegations of degrading and coercive behavior.
Administrators ruled that Fitzgerald bore ultimate responsibility for the program’s culture, a finding that led to his termination for cause after 17 years in Evanston.
Fitzgerald denied any knowledge of the hazing and responded with a $130 million lawsuit alleging wrongful termination and reputational harm. After more than two years of litigation, the case ended in a confidential August 2025 settlement, both sides conceding there was limited evidence that he condoned or directed the misconduct.
On the first day of December, Michigan State hired him to a multiyear contract as its head coach after firing Jonathan Smith, a swift return to the Big Ten.