Alcorn State football coach Ernest T. Jones was fired on Thursday. Or he wasn’t. Or no one knows.

One day after Jones’ attorney said he received a letter from the university informing him of the coach’s dismissal, Alcorn State President George Ross said this morning that Jones has not been fired.

“Coach Jones is not fired. There are lawsuits filed, so I’m limited in what I can say. But Coach Jones has not been fired,” Ross said. “Ernest Jones is the head coach at Alcorn State University.”

Jones, on a recruiting trip, said that was welcome news, although he hadn’t heard from his attorneys or Alcorn officials today.

“I’m on the road recruiting. All I hear is what I know from the newspapers, the TV and what you guys tell me,” Jones said. “I’m going to do my job until somebody tells me to park the truck and turn my keys in.”

On Thursday, Jones’ attorney, Wayne Ferrell, told The Associated Press the firing was detailed in a letter from the university. Jones learned of his apparent dismissal from reporters and his attorney early Thursday afternoon. He had no contact about the matter from Alcorn officials, he said.

Alcorn athletic director Darren Hamilton refused comment, even when asked to confirm whether Jones had been fired.

“I have no comment on the situation,” Hamilton said, repeating the same answer to several questions.

Alcorn finished the season, Jones’ first, with a 2-10 record. Alcorn lost six games by a touchdown or less and four times in the final minute. Alcorn was 2-8 in 2007 under former coach Dr. Johnny Thomas.

Ross’s statement is the latest development in a series of events that began Thanksgiving Day when Hamilton declined to renew the one-year contracts for seven assistant coaches. Jones has said he was watching television when he found out most of his staff had been fired and didn’t hear about it from Hamilton until Dec. 2.

Hamilton has refused to discuss why the coaches were fired.

“State law doesn’t require me to provide a reason,” Hamilton said last week. “I have rules that I must follow in terms of state regulations.”

On Monday, Ross gave letters of reinstatement to the dismissed assistants. Although they are back on the job, the seven coaches have not been given new contracts for next year.

The coaches fired were defensive coordinator Earnest Collins Jr.; offensive coordinator Dino Dawson; running backs coach Terrance Robinson; defensive line and linebackers coach Zach Shay; defensive backs coach Jack Phillips; special teams coach Keith Majors; and strength and conditioning coach Lorenzo Guess.

Offensive line coach Adam Shorter and wide receivers coach Michael Armour were not among the fired coaches.

After the firings, Jones hired Ferrell and another attorney to challenge Hamilton’s decision.

Ferrell said Hamilton’s decision made it “so he (Jones) could not function as a football coach.”

“Right now they’re employed. They’ll be here at the end of the month. But they’re named in the lawsuit so I can’t comment beyond that,” Ross said of the reinstated assistants. “Football moves forward. They’re out there recruiting.”

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Associated Press reporter Timothy R. Brown contributed to this report.

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com.