PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Rutgers fired football coach Kyle Flood and athletic director Julie Hermann on Sunday, stripping the athletic department of its most prominent employees after a season that was a failure on and off the field.

University President Robert Barchi announced that Patrick Hobbs, Dean Emeritus of the Seton Hall University School of Law, will take over for Hermann.

Barchi decided last week to make a change in leadership, he said in a statement, and told the football team of the change Sunday.

“This is a particular point in time and one makes the decisions on a multiplicity of factors and this happens to be a confluence of one of those directional lines if you will,” Barchi said later Sunday during a teleconference with reporters.

As players left the team meeting room about 45 minutes later, everyone declined to comment except senior Quentin Gause, who was team captain.

“Just business decisions,” Gause said was the message from Barchi. “Everyone cares for Flood, but decisions have to be made.”

The reaction in the room was silence, Gause said, and Barchi provided no other details about the Flood decision or what would happen to the assistant coaches.

The Scarlet Knights finished 4-8 this season.