Rice Football Fires Head Coach Mike Bloomgren After 2-6 Start To 2024 Season

G5 Football Daily Staff | Oct 28, 2024

Dec 17, 2022; Mobile, AL, USA; Rice Owls head coach Mike Bloomgren watches a replay on the video board during the Lending Tree Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert McDuffie-Imagn Images / Robert McDuffie-Imagn Images

Rice has fired head coach Mike Bloomgren, as announced by the school Sunday afternoon. Bloomgren was 2-6 in the midst of his seventh season at the helm of the Owls and finishes his tenure with an overall record of 24-52.

"I want to express my sincere appreciation to Coach Bloomgren. Over his seven seasons of service as our head football coach, he has represented our university and football program with the utmost class and integrity," said Rice Athletic Director Tommy McClelland. "However, as I evaluated our program and compared our current and desired trajectory, I determined new leadership is necessary to guide us into the future."

Rice’s 17-10 loss to UConn on Saturday was fifth loss in the team’s last six outings.

Bloomgren led the Owls to back-to-back bowl berths in 2022 and 2023, although the 2022 bowl berth came via Rice’s APR ranking as the Owls were 5-7 at the end of the regular season. Bloomgren never had a winning season in his six full seasons at the helm.

Inheriting a team that went 1-11 under David Bailiff in 2017, Bloomgren arrived in Houston after spending five seasons as Stanford’s offensive coordinator (2013-2017) and slowly increased the Owls’ win total, with last year’s 6-7 record being the high mark. However, after entering this season with bowl expectations, Bloomgren was on the verge of seventh consecutive losing season as Rice’s head coach.

A national search for a new head coach will begin immediately and Associate Head Coach & Special Teams Coordinator Pete Alamar will serve as the Owls' interim head coach for the remainder of the 2024 season.

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