Football finished with its worst regular season record since the team finished 2-10 in 2007 with a 31-21 victory Friday over Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.

The poor season performance from the team should force NIU to quickly make a decision on whether Head Coach Rod Carey is the best option to lead the team going forward, and if recent play is any indicator, the answer is probably no.

Carey had success in his first two seasons with the Huskies, going a combined 23-5 in 2013 and 2014, including the first 12-0 regular season in school history in 2013. In 2015, NIU finished the regular season 8-4, its first time finishing with less than 10 wins since 2009. The team went a combined 57-13 from 2010-14 but have only gone 36-19 since Carey’s late 2012 arrival, including only one postseason win.

NIU began this season 0-4 and never had a winning streak of more than two games. Thanks to a solid conference record, the team was able to finish third in the MAC West, ending its record streak of six consecutive MAC Championships in which the team has gone 3-3.

As of 4 p.m. Sunday, 240 out of 391 voters, 61 percent, think Carey will be fired by the end of this season even though his contract does not end until June 30, 2019, according to a recent Northern Star poll. Many of the Facebook comments on the poll were anti-Carey.

“Hopefully [Carey will not coach] much longer!” Facebook user E.J. Heck said on the poll. “We are a joke this year.”

Alumnus Brandon Grosz said he will no longer attend NIU football games so long as Carey remains the head coach. Grosz went to the Sept. 24 game against Western Illinois University and thought NIU lost because of poor coaching.

Carey makes about $625,000 plus bonuses annually, and NIU would have to agree on a buyout amount to avoid paying him the remainder of his contract, a decision that will be tough to make. However, the Huskies have performed horribly over the past two years and something has to be done soon.

Athletic Director Sean Frazier said on Nov. 17 he is not thinking about buying out Carey’s contract.

“He has a contract, and he’s our coach,” Frazier said.

A downside for NIU allowing Carey to fulfill his contract is the team, based on its track record, will continue to perform at a below-average level for a few more seasons, further hurting NIU’s reputation.

Carey is the fourth-winningest coach in the history of NIU football, which makes it difficult to understand why his teams have had so much trouble lately. The numbers can be misleading—despite a ton of regular season success, his teams have not been well-prepared for championship and bowl games.

The Huskies have encountered major injury problems at the quarterback position—redshirt senior Drew Hare has missed significant time over the past two years with a variety of injuries along with sophomore Ryan Graham, a Carey recruit, who was injured in the Nov. 16 matchup against Eastern Michigan University.

Two more standout players the fourth year coach has recruited have been junior cornerback Shawun Lurry and senior wide receiver Kenny Golladay. Lurry was a first-team All-MAC selection and Associated Press First-Team All-American last year when he led the nation with nine interceptions. Golladay was a second-team All-MAC selection last season and has scored 14 touchdowns in two seasons since joining the team.

The Huskies’ offseason will likely be filled with questions about Carey’s future and where the team stands going forward.

NIU should make a decision on Carey’s job status sooner rather than later because the regular season is over and with a sub .500 record the likelihood of a bowl berth is extremely slim. The best time to look for a replacement is the end of December to mid-January.