Houston head baseball coach Rayner Noble is out after 16 seasons, My Fox Houston reported on Friday.
Sources told FOX 26 UH officials and Noble are negotiating the remaining three years on his contract which are worth a total of $730, 000.
Noble, who is the winningest baseball coach in school history with 526 wins, was 25 and 32 in 2010 which included a 24-3 loss to cross-town rival Rice in the Conference USA Post-Season Tournament.
Houston has experienced some of its most successful seasons under Noble, but the program has undeniably declined in recent years. The only real question heading into the off-season was whether or not the University of Houston athletics department had enough money to buy out a coach in a minor sport like baseball. Athletics Director Mack Rhoades acted quickly, however. Noble's replacement will be the fourth head-coaching hire for Rhoades, who has been on the job for just under a year.
Rhoades has shown a fearlessness in replacing coaches. Houston volleyball coach Bill Walton, like Noble the winningest coach in UH history at his particular sport, quickly resigned after a ho-hum season this year. Then mercurial men's basketball coach Tom Penders resigned, despite achieving his stated goal of reaching the NCAA tournament.
As a fan, I have to wonder where the money is coming from for all of these hirings and buy-outs. But if Rhoades is sure that he can afford to clean house on some coaches who aren't bringing UH to the level he expects, more power to him.