Colleges

Florida fires Johns after five years

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published May 28, 2005

GAINESVILLE - Florida fired softball coach Karen Johns on Friday nearly a week after the Gators went 0-2 in NCAA region play and were eliminated.

Athletic director Jeremy Foley said Friday afternoon that "nobody worked harder than Karen," but the program needs someone else to take it to the next level. A national search for Johns' successor will begin immediately.

Johns was 192-131 (.594) in five seasons, including 41 wins each of the past three years, but was 79-69 in the SEC. Florida was 2-10 in five SEC tournaments under Johns and was outscored 50-17. The Gators went 0-2 in four of Johns' five years.

In four NCAA region appearances, Johns' teams were 3-8 and never won more than one game.

"When you evaluate the whole program over a five-year period, I felt we should be further along," Foley said. "We're not as much of a player in the softball world as I'd like us to be and think we should be. I don't think this postseason by itself had a huge impact, but it contributed to the evaluation and the picture of where we are today and where I think we can be. I've said several times, when you make a coaching change, it's not just where you are today, it's where you want to be in five years. Five years from now we certainly hope we have a dominant softball program. We thought it would take a change of leadership to get us to that point."

The Gators changed assistants three times in the past three seasons, but Foley said "there's nothing under the rock that you'll find" on Johns. He said he wasn't sure if the assistants situation affected UF's play.

Johns, a former All-America catcher at South Carolina and Alabama assistant, could not be reached for comment. In a statement she said she felt "privileged" to work with the Florida athletes and fans the past five years and wishes the team and next coach well.

[Last modified May 28, 2005, 00:09:12]