St. Aug’s fires football coach

St. Augustine’s football coach Michael Morand, who had been placed on administrative leave two weeks into the season, has been relieved of his duties, the school announced Wednesday.

Contacted by phone, athletic director George Williams would only say, “We have decided to go in another direction. We will open up the job at the end of the season, and (interim) coach (Tim) Chavous is welcome to apply for it at that time.”

Morand took over a St. Augustine’s football team in the midst of a crisis.

Thirteen-year coach Michael Costa had just been released after the first game of the 2014 season, and several of the players’ relatives had gone to the national media to protest “unsafe travel conditions and inadequate food.”

Morand, who was the offensive coordinator at the time, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

The Falcons finished the season 3-7, but were 3-4 in the CIAA, including a regular-season finale win over rival Shaw.

Morand had the interim tag dropped in December and was named permanent head coach.

“This is my dream job,” he said at the time. “I thank President (Everett) Ward and coach (George) Williams for giving me the opportunity to coach this team. We are going to work hard to make SAU a success.”

Morand was placed on two-week administrative leave without pay on Sept. 16.

“Pending an internal investigation, further action may be taken,” Williams said at the time.

On Wednesday, Morand was relieved of his duties in a statement released by the university.

“We appreciate the service that coach Morand has given us in the last year and a half,” athletic director George Williams said in a statement. “However, the university has found it necessary to proceed in a different direction.”

Chavous has been named interim head coach for the rest of the season. Chavous and assistant Jonathan Kelly Sr. had served as co-interim head coaches during Morand’s administrative leave.

Chavous has been the running backs coach and team academic coordinator for the past four years. The Falcons have the highest team GPA in CIAA football for three consecutive seasons.

SAU (0-4) will be seeking its first win when it travels to Virginia State Saturday at 2 p.m.

This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 4:42 PM with the headline "St. Aug’s fires football coach."