The Rice Owls moved to dismiss their head coach on Sunday.
Rice fired Mike Bloomgren after seven years with the program. The Owls’ 2-6 start to the season was enough for the administration to make a decision. After a successful run in Texas, Bloomgren’s time is over.
“Rice has fired coach Mike Bloomgren, with the Owls at 2-6 this year,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel said.
Sources: Rice has fired coach Mike Bloomgren, with the Owls at 2-6 this year. Bloomgren is 24-52 in seven years at Rice. He led the Owls to consecutive bowl games in 2022 and 2023, the later of which came after the transition to the AAC. pic.twitter.com/YIkaaQP5pY
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 27, 2024
Bloomgren went 24-52 at Rice, which to be clear, isn’t the easiest job in the world. In 2018, his first season went poorly, as they went 2-11. They then went 3-9, 2-3, and 4-8 before going 5-8 in 2022. That led to a bowl game appearance at 5-7, but they lost that year’s LendingTree Bowl.
In 2023, Rice went 6-7 with a loss in the First Responder Bowl. So he got them up to six wins a season ago, and after five sluggish seasons, that appeared to be the start of something. But it never quite showed itself for the Owls.
Such is life in college football this time of year. The season is winding down and chances of making the postseason are starting to dwindle across the country. As a result, jobs will open up.
The CFB world extended their best wishes to Bloomgren following the news of his dismissal.
Ahh man. Always loved my conversations with Mike. He was the last remaining FBS coach from when I started at Dave Campbell’s. He should be an in-demand OC/OL coach very soon. https://t.co/MEde32keyn
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) October 27, 2024
Looks like I'll be tooting this horn again:
Give @VanBMalone3rd a chance!He's a Houston native and Waltrip Ram. His candidacy makes a ton of sense and he's deserving of a phone call if nothing else. https://t.co/0t51VK22rh
— Ryan Wallace (@GPCwallace) October 27, 2024
I don’t know this guy or what was going on, but he got Rice to back to back bowl games, to me, Bowls in 2 out of 3 years for that program is worthy of a raise and extension. https://t.co/jcLV6kOn4L
— Mike Stuben (@Mike1625) October 27, 2024
Tough, tough job.
Where does a school like Rice go in the new world? https://t.co/QxtMPFkKge
— Mark Schipper – 5th Down CFB (@5thDownCFB) October 27, 2024
