Dave Cohen, the Rutgers defensive coordinator accused of bullying and verbally abusing a player, was fired effective immediately from his position along with two other assistant coaches, head coach Kyle Flood announced on Sunday.
Cohen, the head coach at Hofstra when the football program was dropped, allegedly used inappropriate language in dealing with redshirt freshman Jevon Tyree, who is transferring. Tyree claimed Cohen called him a “p—y” and a “b—h” and threatened to head butt him during study hall.
Rutgers has agreed to honor Tyree’s athletic scholarship through the end of the academic year and is investigating the incident. On a conference call Saturday, Flood said the decision to let go Cohen was all about football and had nothing to do with the alleged off-field incident.
“I’m confident the moves we made today are the right moves for our program,” the second-year coach said. Cohen was let go along with quarterbacks coach Rob Spence and offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski.
The defense struggled mightily this season under Cohen, allowing 4,782 yards — third most in program history and broke the record for most passing yards allowed — a major factor in the team’s mediocre 6-6 season. The Scarlet Knights did qualify for a bowl, however, and have accepted an invitation to play in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 28 against Notre Dame. Special teams coordinator Joe Rossi will serve as defensive coordinator for that game.
Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann gave Flood a vote of confidence Sunday, saying in a statement he will be back next season.