 Toledo finished their 1989 season with a record of six wins and five losses (6 – 5, 6 – 2 in MAC play) and tied for second place in the final conference standings. Although the Rockets finished the season with a winning record, on November 22, 1989, head coach Dan Simrell was fired by Toledo athletic director Al Bohl. By mid-December, the finalists were narrowed to Pete Cordelli (then the quarterback coach at Notre Dame) and Nick Saban (then the secondary coach for the Houston Oilers). On December 22, 1989, Bohl announced the Saban had been hired to replace Simrell as head coach at Toledo. The position was Saban's first as a head coach.
