MWSU AD Kurt McGuffin talks about the decision to fire Partridge

Missouri Western announced on Thursday that head football coach Jerry Partridge has been relieved of his coaching duties after 20 years in charge of the program.

Partridge took over his alma mater in 1997 and finishes with an overall record of 149-83, which is the third most wins of any coach in MIAA history.  He had a record of 117-68 against MIAA opponents during his tenure.

Partridge had only four losing season during his 20 years and two of them came in his first two seasons.  He guided Missouri Western to ten postseason appearances, including four trips to the NCAA Division II Playoffs.  MWSU played in the postseason for eight consecutive years between 2005 and 2012, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2012 and finishing 12-2.  Prior to Partridge, Missouri Western had only qualified for postseason play three times.

“Coach Partridge has been a part of Griffon football for most of his adult life as a player, assistant coach and head coach, and I thank him for his hard work, his passion and his loyalty,” said Kurt McGuffin, Western’s Dir. of Athletics in a statement on the school’s website. “Our goal is to find a coach who can build on the foundation Jerry established to position our student-athletes for continued success on the field and in the classroom.”

The Griffons won two MIAA championships under Partridge in 2003 and 2012.  They shared the 2003 title and won it outright in 2012 for the first time in school history.

Missouri Western finished 4-7 this past season, which snapped a streak of 11 consecutive years with a winning record in the regular season.  After winning the 2012 MIAA championship, the Griffons have finished 8-3, 7-4, 6-5 and 4-7.

After playing at Missouri Western, Partridge was a graduate assistant at Notre Dame and Missouri.  He returned to MWSU and was the defensive coordinator for five seasons before coaching at Murray State and Austin Peay.