UNLV football coach Marcus Arroyo was fired Monday morning after finishing his third season with a 5-7 record.

Athletic director Erick Harper said Arroyo was informed of the decision early Monday. Harper added that there was no one moment he knew the program was going to move on from Arroyo, but said the whole body of work was taken into account.

“This is a tough decision, by all means,” Harper said. “I didn’t make this lightly.”

Associate head coach and linebackers coach Kenwick Thompson will serve as the team’s interim head coach if the Rebels earn a five-win bowl bid, which Harper said the school would accept if offered.

A national search for a new coach will begin immediately, though the UNLV athletic director doesn’t expect to use a search firm to help and doesn’t have an exact time frame for when to expect a decision.

Harper said Arroyo agreed to a $2.3 million buyout which will be paid out during the duration of the contract. The former UNLV coach had signed a five-year deal and still had two years remaining upon the conclusion of this season. Harper doesn’t expect the buyout to impact the salary UNLV can offer a new coach or his assistants.

Arroyo finished his UNLV career 7-23 after arriving ahead of the 2020 season. Harper acknowledged the coach had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic during his first two seasons, but said he simply hadn’t seen enough to convince him that the program was heading in the right direction.

“It was time to make a move,” Harper said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.