Alabama fired coach Mike Shula, in part because he couldn’t beat Auburn. Iowa State, in hiring Texas assistant Gene Chizik, sought a piece of a national champion to revive the lackluster Cyclones.

And Michigan State welcomed back one of its own Monday, when the Board of Trustees approved the hiring of former Spartans assistant Mark Dantonio, who spent the past three seasons at the University of Cincinnati.

But in a day of coaching changes, Shula’s ouster was the biggest news – and now Alabama begins its fourth search for a football coach since 2000.

The Crimson Tide finished the season 6-6 with three straight losses, including a 22-15 defeat by state rival Auburn less than two weeks ago. Alabama failed to beat the Tigers in four tries under Shula.

A former Alabama quarterback, Shula led the Tide to a 10-2 season last year and a Cotton Bowl victory.

The 41-year-old coach, son of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, had a 26-23 record in four seasons.

“From my very first day on this job, I had a single mission: To return the Crimson Tide to its place among the elite programs in college football,” Shula said in a statement. “Although I maintain that we were moving steadily in that direction, I regret sincerely that I will not be given the opportunity to finish the job I was hired to do.”

Defensive coordinator Joe Kines will serve as interim head coach, athletic director Mal Moore said.

The Tide has had seven coaches in the 24 years since Paul “Bear” Bryant’s last season in 1982. Bryant had directed the Alabama program for 25 years.

Shula took over the proud but troubled program less than four months before the 2003 season after Mike Price was fired following spring practice for a night of drinking at a strip club in Pensacola, Fla. Price got the job after Dennis Franchione bolted for Texas A&M.

Shula spent 15 years as an NFL assistant before he took the Alabama job, but had no experience as a head coach or on a college staff. He received a new six-year contract in May worth $1.55 million annually.

At Iowa State, Chizik replaces Dan McCarney, who resigned this month after 12 seasons. The Cyclones went 56-84 overall under McCarney, and finished 4-8 this season.

Chizik came to Texas before the 2005 season, and the Longhorns won a national championship in his first season there. By the end of 2005, Chizik’s teams had won 28 straight games dating back to his years at Auburn, where he was defensive coordinator for three seasons.

When he was at Auburn in 2004, the Tigers went 13-0 and finished the season ranked No. 2. Auburn had the nation’s top scoring defense and ranked fifth in total defense that season, and Chizik won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach.

Dantonio is coming home to Michigan State, which fired John L. Smith after a 4-8 season.

Defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi was appointed Cincinnati’s interim head coach. Narduzzi will coach the Bearcats (7-5) in their bowl game.

, which hasn’t been determined. Cincinnati became eligible for a bowl by winning four of its last five games, including an upset of then-unbeaten Rutgers.