Montgomery's tenure at Tulsa ends after eight seasons

The ups and downs of the Philip Montgomery era is over after 8 years at Tulsa.

In the end, going to bowl games in 4 of those 8 years, which included outstanding seasons in 2020 and 2016, and three winning seasons, wasn't enough.

Montgomery was let go despite winning his last game Saturday night, an impressive 37-30 win at Houston. His career record at TU is 43-53.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, one that affects a number of individuals and is never easy for anyone involved," said Tulsa Athletics Director Rick Dickson. "Philip’s dedication to our student-athletes is unquestioned and we thank him for his tireless efforts in leading our young men. He has represented TU with class and character. We appreciate Philip’s commitment to The University of Tulsa, our football program and the Tulsa community."

The 2022 season was Montgomery's final undoing. Starting out with such promise, including a group of strong receivers led by record-setting Keylon Stokes, and a quarterback in Davis Brin who appeared to be in store for a banner year, 2022 figured to be a winning season.

But after a losing season where Tulsa finished 3-5 in the AAC, with all five conference losses being in double digits, the enthusiasm for TU football is not there among its fan base.

Highlights of Montgomery's tenure included the 2016 and 2020 seasons, which were terrific. A TU coach would have a job for life if those seasons were a regular occurance.

Also, getting linebacker Zaven Collins to win college Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2020 was truly one of the most amazing feats in Tulsa football history.

Also remarkable was back-to-back first round picks in the 2021 and 2022 NFL Drafts when Collins went #16 to the Arizona Cardinals and offensive tackle Tyler Smith went #24 to the Dallas Cowboys. Both are currently starting for their teams.

With no first round picks in the previous 44 seasons, and only two other first round picks in TU history, this was an incredible feat for TU football.

Montgomery inherited a TU football program that was two years removed from a 2012 season where Tulsa won Conference USA and finished 11-3. But Bill Blankenship's final two seasons of 3-9 and 2-10 records had caused him to be let go.

Enter Montgomery, Baylor's offensive coordinator with a high-flying, extremely fast-paced offense.

The impact was immediate.

Inheriting a strong talent base on offense, including quarterback Dane Evans, and receivers Keevan Lucas and Keyarris Garrett, Tulsa's offense soared in Montgomery's inaugural 2015 season. The Golden Hurricane went bowling in his first year, finishing 6-7 after a 55-52 loss in the Independence Bowl to Virginia Tech.

A terrific 2016 season with Evans and Lucas still aboard had Tulsa finish 10-3 with a 55-10 Miami Beach Bowl victory over Cooper Rush led Central Michigan. The season featured two controversial, excruciatingly close losses at Houston and at Navy which TU could have finished 12-1.

But unfortunately, the air went out of the tires for the next three seasons with a combined 9-27 record, including 2-10 and 3-9 seasons in 2017 and 2018.

With Evans gone, Montgomery did not come close to getting a comparable quarterback for those two seasons. Chad President, Luke Skipper and Seth Boomer led teams just didn't fare well. At all.

In 2019, Tulsa was almost good when Baylor transfer Zach Smith became eligible. With a solid quarterback at the helm, missed field goals at the end of two games would have had Tulsa be a 6-6 team, but instead finished 4-8.

The 2020 season was magical, going 6-3 in the Covid year with only 3 home games, including an amazing 6-0 in AAC regular season play. But a 3-point loss at Cincy in the AAC Conference title game, combined with a 28-26 loss to Mississippi State in the Armed Forces bowl, put a damper on the end of the season.

Still, Tulsa was ranked for much of the 2020 season until that bowl loss with Collins' landmark season leading the way.

But a shocking opening season loss to UC-Davis, which included several players suspended due to a fight with Mississippi State in the bowl game, got the 2021 season started on a bad note.

Even though Tulsa finished 2021 with a 7-6 record, including a 4-game winning streak, most of the season before that was depressing, and there was a lack of enthusiasm among the fan base.

With Brin coming off a solid first full season at quarterback, it looked like 2022 was going to be a good year. But Brin's ankle injury in game 4 at Ole Miss put a major damper on the season after he was leading the nation in passing yards.

Even though he would continue to play, the hobbled Brin led offense was never the same. Braylon Braxton's play in the final two games in victories was encouraging, however. But Tulsa's defense was poor against the run.

Through the years under Montgomery, criticisms included the offense becoming a lot less fast paced. And tight ends have never been a big part of the passing game.

If the 2022 season had gone well, there would have been no coaching change. But the final straw probably was No. 19 Tulane just dominating the Hurricane the week after Tulsa lost by 11 to a mediocre SMU on Homecoming.

Whoever the football coach is in 2023, the TU football program is not in bad shape. Montgomery has succeeded in leaving behind a decent talent base.

And there were definite highlights during Montgomery's tenure. He has been a good representative of TU, and is a good man.

But even the great Glenn Dobbs got only 8 years after a fantastic tenure.

In the end, TU feels like it is time for a change.