Marshall's Doc Holliday Will Not Return as Head Coach in 2021

Marshall head coach  Doc Holliday will not return to the school next season. He spent the past 11 years with the program. 

Holliday tweeted that university president Jerry Gilbert informed him that his contract, which is set to expire in June, would not be renewed. 

According to Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel, the decision to move on from Holliday came from above athletic director Mike Hamrick’s domain and was orchestrated by the school's board and West Virginia governor Jim Justice. 

"As the head football coach for Marshall, I've always strived to build and leave the program better than I found it," Holliday wrote on Twitter. "The program and players are the most important thing, more important than any individual coach or staff who has had the privilege to be in Huntington. I'm proud to leave the program in a great place."

Holliday won the Conference USA Coach of the Year this past season for the second time in his career. He went 85-54 at Marshall with a Conference USA championship in 2014 and three division titles.

The Thundering Herd opened the 2020 season 7-0 but lost its final three games, including the conference title game and Camellia Bowl.

Holliday, 63, is a native of West Virginia and previously was an assistant with the Mountaineers, at NC State and at Florida.