The Prairie View A&M Panthers fired two assistant coaches less than halfway through the season this week, showing that for the defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champions, time is of the essence during a challenging season.
As first reported by Terrance Harris of the Houston Defender and confirmed by Chron, Prairie View A&M head coach Tremaine Jackson relieved offensive coordinator Christopher Buckner and defensive backs coach Darren Garrigan of their duties Monday. In their place, Jackson promoted running backs coach Clifford Fedd to lead offensive playcaller, while defensive coordinator Brandon Angerson and defensive analyst Frank Whirley will assume defensive back coaching duties.
"I'm a defensive guy. Guys cannot run wide open," Jackson said during Monday's SWAC Coaches Call. "We're either coaching it that way or we're allowing it to happen, and I'm not down with either. We've got to get those things fixed, and I think we took the necessary steps to get those things fixed."
The Panthers, sitting at 2-5 with a 2-2 conference record, face serious concerns about their offense, which has committed five turnovers in the last two games-including four interceptions thrown by quarterback Tevin Carter. As a result, the team squandered leads against Mississippi Valley State and Southern, falling down the SWAC standings. Jackson suggested that a change at QB1 could happen if things don't improve.
"We'll assess it this week," Jackson said. "If it doesn't get better, then we'll make personnel changes and things of that nature."
Houston native and former Manvel High School standout Kaeden Smith is currently the Panthers' backup quarterback. The junior has thrown for 111 yards in four games this season.
The Panthers have five games remaining, four of which are against conference opponents that appear winnable for Jackson's team. Prairie View A&M's 21-14 victory Sept. 26 over Grambling at the State Fair Classic looms large, as the Tigers currently sit atop the SWAC West standings. If Prairie View A&M wins out and Grambling drops a game, Jackson's team would own the tiebreaker and be in position to play for the SWAC Championship. Winning the conference puts them into the Celebration Bowl, the annual championship between winners of the SWAC and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
But Jackson must first take care of business against Alcorn State, as oddsmakers like FanDuel see the Panthers as 4.5-point home favorites on Saturday in Prairie View.
"We're not in a panic," Jackson said. "When you're in an adverse situation, you've got to fight yourself out of it. And we're not going to take 'it'll get better with time.' That's just not what happens. It gets better with work. So we choose to work on it."
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This article originally published at Prairie View A&M weighs QB change after dismissal of two assistant coaches.