After just two years on the job and after a win against The Citadel to close the season, ETSU President Brian Noland and athletics director Richard 'Doc' Sander have parted ways with George Quarles.
It's something of a stunning move as injuries and budget cuts have besieged the ETSU football program, and much of the athletics department also has felt the fiscal reductions.
A former record-setting high school coach in Tennessee, who had more than 200 career wins in the prep ranks, 11 TSSAA state championships and also had served as head coach in the U.S. Army All-America Bowl, Quarles was hired away from his post as Furman's offensive coordinator by ETSU in December 2021.
In Saturday's closing 35-23 win against The Citadel, ETSU had more senior players who were injured and could not dress for the game than it had seniors available to play.
The Bucs were forced to use six different quarterbacks this season, and the school has lagged well behind its Southern Conference peers in fiscal resources, particularly as it has pertained to Name, Image and Likeness opportunities.
Several years ago, Noland & Co. unveiled an ETSU "master plan" that aimed to drive the school's enrollment up above 17,000-18,000; it was viewed as a critical measure to help the school's coffers.
ETSU's enrollment now is approximately 14,000, and it has made budget cuts across multiple sports and departments this fall.
Noland oversaw the hiring and then "resignation" of former men's basketball coach Jason Shay, who was chased out of ETSU after his players had knelt for the National Anthem. While Shay was said to have "resigned" his post, Noland and ETSU paid Shay several hundred thousand dollars after his exit.
This past spring, Noland & Co. again fired their men's basketball coach, former star Tennessee Vols assistant Des Oliver. Similarly, Oliver also got only two years to work as head coach.
In August 2022, ETSU and Noland fired the school's women's basketball coach and well-liked former A.D. Scott Carter.
Once again, just a year ago, ETSU fired its women's softball coach in November 2022, after the program received several complaints against Belinda Hendrix.
This spate of recent dismissals and firings has come entirely during Noland's tenure as ETSU president, which began in 2012, and also with Sander on staff at ETSU in various capacities throughout the time.
Quarles, who won six games in his two seasons, lost several players to graduation and the NCAA Transfer Portal after his hiring in December 2021, including star offensive lineman Tre'Mond Shorts, who jumped from ETSU to LSU.
With three years left on his original five-year pact and having made improvements in team GPA, as well as APR and also brought in several key first- and second-year contributors, Quarles will be owed a significant amount of buyout-money.