College Football Senior Writer for ESPN. Insider for College Gameday.
Florida Atlantic fired coach Tom Herman on Monday, the school announced, just two years into his tenure.
FAU was 6-16 during Herman’s two seasons and had gone 0-6 in the AAC this year. FAU is on a five-game losing streak.
Herman took the job as FAU was transitioning from Conference USA to the AAC and after the firing of coach Willie Taggart, who was there three seasons. Chad Lunsford will be the FAU interim coach. He’s the former head coach at Georgia Southern.
Sources said that the decision was results-based, as the record didn’t match Herman’s track record from his previous stops at Texas and Houston.
“I extend my appreciation to Tom Herman for his dedication to our university and our student-athletes,” athletic director Brian White said Monday. “I informed Tom of my decision this morning and then met with the staff and team. We firmly believe in our ability to win championships and compete for bowl games, and that remains our standard.”
He’s the fourth AAC coach to get fired this year, as East Carolina, Temple and Rice have all fired their coaches. A majority of the six transitioning Conference USA teams have struggled with the adjustment to the AAC, as five of the seven schools at the bottom of the AAC are transitioning schools.
The FAU firing looms as the biggest surprise, as Herman had yet to complete his second season. He has three years remaining on his five-year deal.
Herman, 49, came to FAU after a stint as head coach at Texas, where he went 32-18 with four bowl wins in four seasons. Prior to that, he went 22-4 in two seasons at Houston, dominating the AAC and beating Florida State in the Peach Bowl following the 2015 season.
Following that run at Texas, Herman worked for the Chicago Bears for a year and then another year in the media. Herman should end up involved in the offensive coordinator mix somewhere, as this looms as a busy year for coordinator openings and he came up as a coordinator at Rice, Iowa State and called plays for Ohio State’s 2014 national title team.
FAU has won three conference championships in school history, including Conference USA in 2017 and 2019 under Lane Kiffin. Since then, FAU has just one winning season and has endured four consecutive losing seasons.
Florida Atlantic is also rehiring defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni, who was fired by Herman on Nov. 10. Lunsford wanted Bellantoni back in his role, sources told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. The sources added that the move isn’t a poor reflection on interim defensive coordinator Brandon Harris, who prepared the defense well for Saturday’s game against Temple. Harris serves as the team’s cornerbacks coach.
CHICAGO — Kyle Tucker had the fans on their feet, roaring and pumping their fists as he rounded the bases after hitting the go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning. His screaming line drive cleared the right-field wall with plenty of room to spare.
The Chicago Cubs went from giving up 10 runs in the eighth to scoring six in the bottom half and beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-11 on Friday in one of the wildest games on record.
The two teams combined for 21 runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with the Cubs scoring 11 runs and the D-backs plating 10. It was the first nine-inning game in MLB history in which both teams scored 10 or more runs from the seventh inning on, and the third game overall, according to ESPN Research.
“That’s kind of baseball,” Tucker said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs in this game, especially with how many games we play.”
There haven’t been many games like this, though.
The Cubs are just the seventh team in at least the past 125 seasons to allow 10 or more runs in an inning and win. They are also the fifth team to give up 10 or more runs and score six or more in the same inning.
The 16 combined runs in the eighth were the most in an inning at Wrigley Field, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“If you’ve seen that one, you’ve been around for a while,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said with a laugh. “It was crazy. You know, we gave up 10 runs in an inning and we won. So it was a wild game, but we kept going, and, you know, there’s 27 outs in a game and this kind of proves it, and you’re just happy to get out with a win.”
On a warm day with the ball carrying, Carson Kelly homered twice. Ian Happ belted a grand slam and Seiya Suzuki went deep, helping the Cubs open a weekend series on a winning note.
“You’ve seen it early — having some tough losses, coming back winning the next day,” Happ said. “Losing the first game of the series, winning the series. Little things like that. Today’s a great example of professional hitters going out there and continuing to have really good at-bats.”
The way things transpired in the final two innings was something to see.
Kelly hit a two-run homer in the second against Corbin Burnes, and Happ came through with his grand slam against Ryne Nelson as part of a five-run seventh. But just when it looked as if the Cubs were in control with a 7-1 lead, things took a wild turn in the eighth.
The crowd of more than 39,000 let the Cubs hear it, but their team regrouped in the bottom half. Bryce Jarvis hit Nico Hoerner leading off and walked Pete Crow-Armstrong before Kelly drove a three-run homer to center. Tucker, the Cubs’ prized offseason addition, came through after Happ singled with one out. Suzuki followed with his drive against Joe Mantiply to give the Cubs a 13-11 lead.
Arizona, which had won five straight, became just the third team over the past 50 seasons to lose a game in which it had a 10-run inning at any point, according to ESPN Research.
“You just got to stay locked in,” Kelly said. “Obviously, you don’t want to … give up 10 in an inning. Obviously, you don’t want to do that. I think the biggest thing is coming back, regrouping and continuing to fight.”
Major League Baseball suspended New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. for one game and fined him an undisclosed amount, the result of his actions during Thursday night’s win against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Chisholm was ejected in the seventh inning by plate umpire John Bacon for arguing after a called third strike on a full-count pitch from Mason Montgomery that appeared low.
Minutes later, he posted on his X account, “Not even f—ing close!!!!!” then deleted the post.
“I didn’t think before I had anything that I said was ejectable but after probably,” Chisholm said after the game. “I’m a competitor, so when I go out there and I feel like I’m right and you’re saying something to me that I think doesn’t make sense, I’m going to get fired up and be upset.
“I lost my emotions. I lost my cool. I got to be better than that. … I’m definitely mad at myself for losing my cool.”
Michael Hill, the league’s senior vice president for on-field operations, said Friday’s discipline was for Chisholm’s “conduct, including his violation of Major League Baseball’s Social Media Policy for Major League Players.”
MLB regulations ban the use of electronic devices during games. The social media policy prohibits “displaying or transmitting content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a major league umpire.”
Chisholm did appeal the decision, allowing him to play in Friday night’s 1-0 win against the Rays. He started at second base and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ series opener Friday night against the Rangers that Ohtani was with his wife and going on MLB’s paternity list.
“He and Mamiko are expecting at some point. That’s all I know,” Roberts said. “I don’t know when he’s going to come back and I don’t know when they’re going to have the baby, but obviously they’re together in anticipation.”
The 30-year-old Ohtani posted on his Instagram account in late December that he and his 28-year-old wife, a former professional basketball player from his native Japan, were expecting a baby in 2025.
“Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!” said the Dec. 28 post that included a photo showing the couple’s beloved dog, Decoy, as well as a pink ruffled onesie along with baby shoes and a sonogram that was covered by a baby emoji.
Ohtani can miss up to three games while on paternity leave. The Dodgers have a three-game series in Texas before an off day Monday, then play the Cubs in Chicago on Tuesday.