I did not hear any players saying CGC should not be replaced, just that removing him mid season serves no purpose and is a classless and juvenile move. It would be different if the players had quit, but they had not.
I can understand why some players are upset, but removing him mid season serves many purposes:
1) It allows the school ample time to prepare to find a new coach, and allows them to start actually looking at any point. Doing either of those while Collins was stlil the coach would be a disaster and (rightly) seen as undercutting the team's chances to suceed while Collins was still ostensibly in charge.
2) It will provide information on where we are as a team and possibly get us some more wins. Like him or not, Collins was not producing and after UCF it was clear this season was going to be another disaster. Perhaps that will still be the case, or perhaps Collins actually did build a solid team foundation but was holding it back via his attitude, gameday coaching, or something else. Either way, it is valuable to know.
3) It gives us a chance to minimize losses via the transfer portal. If we went 3-9 again, then fired CGC, there would immediately be a bunch of players transferring out of a terrible situation. By making the move early, we may actually be able to establish hope for the future and give them a decent experience for the next couple months, to the point where some potential transfers will rethink things.
4) It shows the fans the school cares about them and wants to reignite their interest. Obviously the fans don't play the game, but the reality is fans are an integral part of building a successful on-field product in college football, because their donations and attendance help fund facilities, attract commits, etc. This isn't the NFL -- the fans actually do matter to the success of the team.
