Jim Grobe resigned as Wake Forest coach on Monday, the school announced.
Grobe was 77-82 in 13 seasons with the Demon Deacons, including 4-8 this year and 2-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He shares the program record for coaching victories with D.C. "Peahead" Walker.
Grobe had three consecutive winning seasons from 2006-08, including leading Wake Forest to the 2006 ACC championship after winning a school-record 11 victories and earning a berth in the Orange Bowl. He was named the AP national coach of the year.
But it was tough to sustain that level of success at a school that has the smallest enrollment of any member of one of the six major BCS conferences.
Wake capped off its fifth straight losing season last weekend with a 23-21 defeat at Vanderbilt. Wake Forest ended the season 4-8, including five losses in a row.
"Jim Grobe's tenure at Wake Forest will go down as the greatest run of football success in school history," athletic director Ron Wellman said in a statement. "Jim and his staff have lifted our program to great heights. Every Demon Deacon fan will be forever grateful for the 2006 ACC Championship and the trip to the Orange Bowl. Jim showed us that winning championships is a worthy and realistic goal for us. We are indebted to him for raising our expectations."
Wake Forest finished 113th or worse nationally in four of the five main offensive stat categories, and its offense effectively disappeared once receiver Michael Campanaro broke his collarbone in a loss at Syracuse on Nov. 2.
The Demon Deacons managed just one touchdown in a span of 10 quarters coinciding with that injury, and those offensive struggles undercut a defense that held nine of 12 opponents to 24 or fewer points.
In what turned out to be Grobe's final home game, Wake Forest gave No. 20 Duke a scare before losing 28-21.
Grobe's successor faces a tough challenge because most of the key players from this year's team -- including quarterback Tanner Price, running back Josh Harris, nose tackle Nikita Whitlock and Campanaro -- were seniors.
The 61-year-old Grobe has a career record of 110-115-1 in a combined 19 years at Wake Forest and Ohio.
Wake will begin the search for a new coach immediately, Wellman said, but he did not provide a timeline for its conclusion.
