A recent three-game winning streak wasn't enough to save Will Wagner's job as head coach of the Angelo State University football team.

Wagner was relieved of his duties Saturday, Nov. 3, according to a press release issued by ASU on Sunday evening, ending an eight-year run with the Rams in which he compiled a 48-40 record.

“We met with Coach Wagner over the weekend and informed him of our decision,” said James Reid, ASU director of athletics. “We wish Will the very best, and we are grateful for his dedication to our athletics program and the lives of our students.”

ASU has promoted Jeff Girsch from defensive coordinator to head coach, and the term 'interim' was not used.

“Coach Girsch has been an outstanding leader and defensive coach for us since he joined Angelo State in 2014,” Reid said. “We look for him to bring those leadership skills to the entire Rams football team.

“Jeff Girsch has coached some outstanding athletes to very successful results since he has been here. Experience shows that he knows how to recruit and lead the Rams to a great future.”

ASU currently has a 6-4 record following three straight wins, including a 34-17 victory over Eastern New Mexico in the Rams' home finale Saturday.

ASU will finish its season on the road against defending national champion Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday, Nov. 10.

Wagner was hired by ASU in 2011 after serving as an assistant coach at Northwest Missouri State for 11 years.

He had strong ties to West Texas as a graduate of Odessa Permian High School who played on the Panthers' last state championship team in 1991. He was also an All-American defensive back at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene.

Wagner took over an ASU program coming off a 5-5 season, but the Rams remained stuck on the five-win mark in Wagner's first three years, finishing with a 5-6 record each time.

Then the program had a breakout year in 2014.

ASU went 9-3, won the inaugural Lone Star Conference Playoff Championship, and pulled off a wild comeback from a 21-0 deficit to beat Michigan Tech 42-41 in the snow for the Rams' first postseason win since 1997.

ASU's season ended in the second round against eventual national champion Colorado State-Pueblo.

Expectations were sky high in 2015 with numerous starters returning -- including record-setting quarterback Kyle Washington -- but the Rams missed the playoffs despite a 7-4 record that would have otherwise seemed like a success.

It was the first time the program posted back-to-back seven-win seasons since 1990.

The last three seasons, however, were a return to the middle of the pack for ASU with records of 5-6 in 2016, 6-5 in 2017, and the current mark of 6-4 this year.

Girsch is in his fifth year with the Rams since being hired as the defensive coordinator in 2014.

ASU's defense currently ranks fifth out of nine teams in the conference, allowing an average of 397.6 yards per game.

Last year, ASU's defense ranked second in the conference, and the Rams were first in 2016, when they were fifth in the nation.

Prior to joining ASU, Girsch coached at St. Ambrose University for 18 years, his last six as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. He was named the Mid-States Football Association’s Assistant Football Coach of the Year in 2008.

During his tenure at St. Ambrose, Girsch coached over 50 all-conference players and five All-Americans, and he was a part of seven MSFA Conference Championships. His defense finished in the top 25 in scoring five of his six years as the coordinator, highlighted by a No. 2 finish in 2009 and a No. 5 finish in 2011.

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