Alcorn State fires football coach

JACKSON, Miss. – Alcorn State football coach Ernest T. Jones has been fired days after filing a lawsuit seeking the reinstatement of seven assistant coaches, his attorney said Thursday.

Attorney Wayne Ferrell said the firing was detailed in a letter from the university.

“It is pretty bad. It is in a letter that I’m not at liberty to disclose at this time. We think they are frivolous charges,” Ferrell said.

Alcorn State athletic director and former Eastern Washington A.D. Darren Hamilton told the Associated Press he had no comment. The seven assistants were reinstated Monday.

Alcorn went 2-10 this season in Jones’ first year. The Braves lost six games by a touchdown or less and lost four times in the final minute.

The firing was the latest development in a series of events that began Thanksgiving Day when Hamilton declined to renew the one-year contracts for seven assistant coaches. Hamilton has refused to discuss why the coaches were fired.

“State law doesn’t require me to provide a reason,” Hamilton said on Dec. 3. “I have rules that I must follow in terms of state regulations.”

Alcorn State president George Ross has not commented on Hamilton’s decision.