Idaho State and associate head basketball coach Jared Phay have mutually agreed to part ways. Phay joined Ryan Looney’s new staff at ISU this past off season after a successful five year run as the head coach at the College of Southern Idaho (136-33).

In a release, Bengals AD Pauline Thiros said that Phay and ISU mutually agreed that he will not return to ISU’s coaching staff next season. Phay is not under investigation, Thiros said.

Phay told the Idaho State Journal, “I have been told that things are not working out with our current situation and that ISU has placed me on paid administrative leave. As far as I know, there truly is not more to the story than simply I am not a good fit and we mutually agree that I should not return for the 2020-21 season.”

Also, according to the journal report:

Sources close to the team said Phay was involved in an argument on the bench during the first half of Thursday’s game at Montana State University in Bozeman. He was attempting to defuse a heated conversation between an ISU player and another one of the team’s coaches during the incident, the sources said.

After the team went to the locker room at halftime, Phay and the player did not return to ISU’s bench for the second half of the game.

The sources said Phay was then ordered to return to Pocatello on Friday while the team remained in Montana preparing for Saturday’s game against the University of Montana in Missoula. ISU said the player involved in the bench incident remains a part of the team.

Idaho State is currently 6-18 (3-12 Big Sky), and riding a 10 game losing streak.