Boston College Football: Why The Program Must Fire Spaziani Midseason

Looks like Mark Blaudschun is going down with the ship.

And for the voices who say they want heads right now-specifically Spaziani's, we have a simple question.

And what will that do? Create stability? Make the defense play better?

Please.

It is what it is and it is not good. Let the season play itself out, bring in a new athletic director and go from there.

I used to think along the same lines here. Play the season out, hire a new Athletic Director and hire a new coach in the offseason. But after yesterday's 34-31 loss to Army -- a game in which the Eagles were unprepared and out-coached for 60 minutes -- the program must fire Spaz midseason.

Leaving Spaz on to coach the final 6-7 games of the season serves no purpose but to further embarrass the program and tarnish whatever is left of Gene DeFilippo's legacy. Other than relishing in the schadenfreude of the program or serving as a "I told you so" for those who hopped off the Spaziani bandwagon long ago, keeping him on as HC for the remainder of the season serves no legitimate purpose.

Here are a few reasons why Spaz should be terminated with cause, paid, sent on his way and replaced with an interim HC the rest of the season.

Fire Spaz now for the players. Spaz and this coaching staff have failed the players, coaches, fans and alumni of the school's football program. Spaz has this team unprepared to play their opponents week in and week out, makes no adjustments and makes questionable in-game coaching decisions. It's embarrassing to the school, to the long-time supporters of the program and unfair to the current players.

To answer Blauds directly, firing Spaz now will not make the defense play better, but it may better prepare the team to face the remaining seven opponents on the schedule. At the very least, it can't be any worse than it has been through the first five games of the season. Give the team hope that the staff is putting the team in a position to win for the final games of the season.

To be clear, there is no downside to firing Spaz now. Worst case is the program continues to lose and doesn't win another game this season. Best case is the team responds and rallies around an interim HC and wins a few games that they otherwise wouldn't from here on out. He shouldn't get to coach the final seven games of the season merely because he's a nice guy or was a great defensive coordinator.

Fire Spaz now for recruiting. Spaz wound up recruiting players that were willing to commit to Boston College over the summer before the season even began. As such, the current class is a little more sold on BC than players that may commit closer to National Signing Day. And even if BC loses a few recruits due to a midseason firing (I doubt it), it will give the current set of recruits ample time to make a decision. This will also cut down on any negative recruiting other peer program coaches are doing right now -- "Spaz and the staff won't be there in seven weeks" -- as well as sending a message that mediocrity will not be tolerated on the Heights, improving the chances that the next coach can pick up a few other commits before NSD.

Fire Spaz for the long-time fans and supporters of the program. Long-time fans and supporters of the program have seen enough. The longer Spaz keeps his job, the more fans are going to turn their back on the program and the harder the road back will be for the next A.D. and the next coach to win back the crowd. Once the next A.D. is installed, he/she should act on Spaz before the season ends. It's the easiest decision the next A.D. has to make and one that will hopefully win back a number of fans and alumni, improve alumni giving and stop the bleeding.

Fire Spaz to save face nationally. What message does it send the rest of the country that Boston College is going to hold onto a coach that has a sub-.500 record in Year 4 longer than it has to? A coach that is 0-8 against the AP Top 25? A coach that makes over a million dollars a year to have his team unprepared to play college football week after week?

This might fly at a mid-major program or a college football program with less success historically, but Boston College football has come too far to continue to have its nationally reputation dragged through the mud. The longer the program waits to pull the trigger on Spaz, the worse this looks nationally. Midseason firings happen ALL THE TIME at other college football stops. Boston College should be no different.

Fire Spaz to save what is left of DeFilippo's legacy. Former Boston College A.D. Gene DeFilippo did a lot of good for the school and the program. All of that is quickly being undone the longer the football program retains Spaz. Fans, alumni and supporters are only going to remember the state of the football program that GDF left behind; not the decision to bring the Eagles into the ACC, the increases in fundraising and the success of the football, basketball, hockey and women's sports programs. Even though DeFilippo made the hire, gave him an unnecessary contract extension and trolled the fan base by praising Spaziani's performance, he shouldn't be remembered just for the implosion of the football program.

Finally, I want to clear up any misconceptions about this post. A few current players took exception to the reaction from fans, bloggers and supporters of the program following yesterday's loss. This post is in no way directed towards the players. This blog and the fan base is behind the players 100 percent and will continue to support the program through thick and thin. It is because I feel that Spaziani has failed the current roster of players that we want to see Boston College make a change sooner rather than later. The "It is what it is" attitude of writers like Blaudschun is defeatist and counter to the school's motto "Ever To Excel" and the players deserve better than what you have today.