Florida fires offensive coordinator Brent Pease, according to reports

Update: Florida announced Pease's firing Sunday afternoon. Original story follows.

Florida has fired offensive coordinator Brent Pease, according to Associated Press beat reporter Mark Long. The Orlando Sentinel's Edgar Thompson confirmed Long's report shortly afterward.

In Pease's two years with Florida, the Gators never scored more than 44 points in a game, and only got to 44 with the substantial aid of turnovers against South Carolina in 2012. Florida topped 30 points in just seven of Pease's 25 games as offensive coordinator, and did not score more than 23 points on offense — an interception returned for a touchdown helped get Florida its 30 points against Arkansas in 2013 — in the final nine games of the 2013 season. (Florida was also without Jeff Driskel for all of those games and without second-stringer Tyler Murphy for the final three.)

Florida's offense ranked 78th in scoring offense (26.5 points per game) and 104th in total offense (334.0 yards per game) in 2012, but currently ranks 112th in scoring offense (18.8 PPG) and 114th in total offense (316.7 YPG) after a 4-8 2013 campaign. Florida is tied for 112th in scoring offense with 5-7 Eastern Michigan and 0-12 Georgia State, one of two winless teams in the country — and both of those teams have scored more touchdowns on the year than the Gators.

Pease was hired after the 2011 season, coming from Boise State to replace the departing Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator.

Pease received a raise after the 2012 season — one defended here as justified by his 2012 offense's great improvement on the 2011 Weis unit in turnover prevention. But after committing just 15 turnovers in 13 games in 2012 and tying for 14th nationally in turnovers lost, Florida had 20 turnovers in 12 games in 2013, currently tied for 57th nationally, and Pease's firing was expected and is justified. Long reports that Pease will be owed $1.2 million, the salary for the two years remaining on his contract, as a result of his firing.

Long additionally reports that Florida will not pursue Western Kentucky head coach Bobby Petrino or Jacksonville head coach and former Florida quarterback Kerwin Bell as its next offensive coordinator. We'll have an exhaustive list of offensive coordinator candidates later today.