Boston College has fired head coach Jim Christian, effective immediately, the school announced Monday.
Assistant coach Scott Spinelli will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
“I know that Jim gave everything that he had into leading our program and mentoring our student-athletes,” athletic director Pat Kraft said. “Ultimately, the program is not headed in the right direction and though I hesitate to make a midseason coaching change in any sport, now is the right time for us to look forward. We wish Jim and his family all the best in their future endeavors and thank them for their service to Boston College.”
Christian was in his seventh season at the helm since taking over for Steve Donahue in 2014. The Eagles peaked in 2017-18, winning 19 games and earning a spot in the NIT, but they’ve failed to finish above .500 in the ACC in any of his seven seasons. Boston College is 3-13 overall and 1-9 in the ACC this season following Saturday’s loss at Syracuse.
Christian went 78-132 overall and 26-94 in conference play at BC.
This was an expected move; Christian entered last season on the hot seat, but former athletic director Martin Jarmond opted to keep him after the 2019-20 campaign. Jarmond then left for UCLA and Kraft took over as athletic director.
Several names have been floating around the last few weeks as potential replacements in Chestnut Hill, including Loyola Chicago’s Porter Moser, former Michigan coach John Beilein, Michigan assistant coach Howard Eisley, St. Bonaventure’s Mark Schmidt, VCU’s Mike Rhoades and Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett.