Report: FAU Fires Charlie Partridge


FAU canned Charlie Partridge on Sunday after three seasons. The Owls may be looking to make a splashy hire with a rising assistant or former head coach.


Florida Atlantic pulled the plug on the Charlie Partridge era on Sunday after three seasons of trying to build up the program, according to Dan Wolken of USA TODAY Sports.

Partridge was a rising assistant who spent several years under Bret Bielema at Wisconsin and Arkansas when the Owls brought him aboard, but he was unable to advance the program as the administration had desired. He had three 3-9 seasons, with the 2016 campaign ending with a 77-56 loss to Middle Tennessee.

Expect a lot of interest in this job from coordinators that have never had a head gig as well as head coaches that are looking to bounce back from a subpar stint at their most recent stop. The location of Boca Raton will attract interest in the job and the facilities are above average, so recruiting should not be an issue for the Conference USA program.

The name that immediately comes to mind in making the most sense is Mario Cristobal, who was surprisingly dismissed by FIU in December 2012 after taking over the program, building it from the ground up and earning two bowl berths. He is currently the offensive line coach at Alabama.

Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins could also be in the mix for this gig, as he has earned the right to have a shot running his own program.

Expect a lot of coaches, especially ones in and near the state of Florida, to go after this Group of Five gig.

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