COLLEGE FOOTBALL After 10 seasons, Minter fired as Cincinnati coach

He posted a 53-63-1 record over the span, including 5-7 this past season.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Rick Minter was flushed and red-eyed after telling his players he had been fired as football coach at Cincinnati.
"You know when you get in the business it's liable to happen," Minter said Monday afternoon.
Minter was told in the morning that he was out, three days after the Bearcats ended their season with a 43-40 loss to Louisville.
"I'm upset. I'm disappointed," Minter said. "I'm not bitter at any individual. Cincinnati has been good to me."
Minter was at Cincinnati (5-7) for 10 years, and with a 53-63-1 record had the most wins and losses in Bearcats' history.
Offered another job
Athletic director Bob Goin said Minter, who has three years remaining on his contract, was offered another unspecified job.
"I believe he has some administrative talent," Goin said. "We'd be happy to have him do that."
Minter said he would consider the offer, but couldn't muster much enthusiasm.
"At heart, I'm a football coach," he said.
Minter believes he is leaving Cincinnati's football program in better shape than he found it.
"When I came here, in retrospect, it wasn't a very good job," he said of his 1993 arrival. "We got it better. The guy who comes in next is going to find it a more desirable job than I found it."
Goin agreed.
"The foundation is better today than 10 years ago," he said.
Faced criticism
Minter took Cincinnati to bowl games four of the past six seasons, but had come under increasing criticism for failing to create a larger fan base and national profile.
There was more pressure on Minter to produce a consistent winner when Cincinnati accepted an invitation last month to leave Conference USA for the higher-profile Big East.
Goin said that entered into his decision to seek a new coach.
"I became convinced it was the right thing to do," Goin said. "It's a gut feeling it's time to do something different."
After a 3-0 start this year, the Bearcats lost seven of their final nine games for their first losing season in four years.
Low attendance
Only 11,993 fans -- slightly more than one-third of the stadium's capacity -- showed up on a cold, snowy afternoon to see the final game. One banner during the game pleaded, "Minter Please Step Down."
Goin said there is no rush to fill the position.
"I'm going to be anxious to see what kind of interest the position draws," Goin said. "And we'll do some recruiting, too."