ESPN College Football

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M defensive coordinator Carl Torbush was fired on Monday, the first casualty from the Aggies' disappointing 5-6 season, its second losing record in three seasons under head coach Dennis Franchione.

Franchione announced the firing in an e-mail Monday afternoon.

Texas A&M's defense was ranked 108th out of 117 Division I-A schools and its pass defense was the worst in the nation. The Aggies allowed a whopping 443.82 yards per game and gave up 31.2 points a contest.

"After evaluating our defense, I felt like it was in the best interest of our football program to make a change at defensive coordinator," Franchione said in the statement. "I think Carl is an outstanding person and an excellent coach, but for whatever reason, we were not effective on defense."

Franchione said he would begin a national search for a replacement immediately.

The Aggies entered the season ranked 17th in The Associated Press poll, but lost their opener to Clemson and never entered the poll again. They lost their final four games of the season, including an embarrassing 56-17 loss to Texas Tech.

"We didn't get the job done on defense and that was my responsibility," Torbush said in the release. "I commend the players for giving great effort and I appreciate the coaches who continued to work. One thing I thought was evident was this group refused to quit."

Torbush came to College Station in December 2002 after serving as Alabama's defensive coordinator for two seasons and served in that capacity at North Carolina and Ole Miss.

There had been much speculation in recent weeks that Torbush wouldn't keep his job. This season's defensive downturn was a marked departure from Texas A&M's performance in the 1990s when the defense was so ferocious it was called the "Wrecking Crew."

Texas A&M fans have been calling for Torbush's job most of the year.

Texas A&M finished its season on Friday with a 40-29 loss to No. 2 Texas.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press