'Community' Star Jim Rash -- Dan Harmon's Firing Had Nothing to Do with Chevy Feud

"Community" creator Dan Harmon's firing from his own show came shortly after his very public view with Chevy Chase -- but fellow cast member Jim Rash says one thing has nothing to do with the other.

Our photog caught up with Rash -- who plays Dean Pelton on the show and won an Oscar earlier this year for co-writing "The Descendants" -- outside a theater in Hollywood last night. He told us that the cast "couldn't love him more" and the decision to not re-new Harmon's contract was totally out of their hands.