With Bulls stuck at 1-8, South Florida fires Scott

Sports

South Florida fired football coach Jeff Scott on Sunday, the school announced.

The Bulls (1-8, 0-5 American) are coming off a 54-28 loss at Temple on Saturday, their seventh straight defeat.

“When Jeff came to Tampa in December of 2019, we had high expectations for where he could take our football program,” South Florida athletic director Michael Kelly said in a statement. “While he did so many things right, including rebuilding our culture, pushing forward our indoor performance facility, and engaging our community, the on-the-field results fell well below our standards.”

Special teams coach Daniel Da Prato will finish the rest of the season as interim coach.

The Bulls also let defensive coordinator Bob Shoop go. Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Ernie Sims will assume those duties for the remainder of the year.

Scott, who came to Tampa prior to the 2020 season after spending 12 years at Clemson coaching in various capacities, had received a two-year contract extension through 2026 in January.

“I would like to thank our players, coaches and staff members for all their hard work during my time as the head coach at USF,” Scott said in a statement.

The Bulls are the lone team in the AAC without a conference win and have yet to register a victory over any FBS team. Their lone win was a 42-20 decision over Howard on Sept. 10.

“I will miss this team and will do anything in my power to help them in the future,” Scott said. “I am disappointed that our hard work didn’t translate to more success on the field, but I am confident that we have set a new foundation.”

Scott compiled a 4-26 record (1-19 AAC) in his two-plus seasons with the Bulls. South Florida hosts SMU on Saturday.