Fans of the fir might not find this surprising, but SFist has learned through a source connected with the Stanford Athletics Department that head football coach Walt Harris will not be back next year. Not if the team runs the table, not if they win a bowl game. Not in a boat, not with a goat. No way, no how.

The news here is not that Harris will be gone at the end of the season -- that much is fairly obvious -- the news is that the decision has already been made. From here on out, the coach, the school, and sadly, the team are just playing out the string . . . for nine more games.

Apparently, even before this nightmare season started, Harris was on the hot seat with Administration for his comments about entrance requirements and other school policies.

Ruffling the feathers of big shots at a blue blood U. like Stanford is rarely good for job security in any circumstance, but it is especially unwise in the midst of an ugly, ugly 0-3 start that includes losses to such powerful programs as San Jose State and Navy (Coming into the game against Stanford this past weekend, Navy quarterback Brian Hampton was 2-9 for 6 yards in two games). At this point, the Cardinal are giving da Raaay-durs a battle for rock bottom. Coming off the past weekend's pasting at the hands of the Midshipmen in the inaugural game at the new Farm House, Stanford had a Sagarin Rating of 103, ahead of San Jose State, but behind, uh, Bowling Green, not to mention several Division I-AA teams. Ouch.

Image removed at the request of TheBootleg.com.