Who will be Arizona's next DL Coach?

[Chicat]

But let's not try and pretend like we hire a "more qualified guy".

Who tried to pass that off?

[cordera89]

Not really much of a debate if we don't know who it is or assuming RR has already name someone to be the Dline coach? Whoever knows what goes on in that head of RR to lead our team to victory.

[Chicat]

Not really much of a debate if we don't know who it is or assuming RR has already name someone to be the Dline coach? Whoever knows what goes on in that head of RR to lead our team to victory.

Did you just wake up from a coma?

[Gladiator Cat]

Look guys, a former assistant AD told me that Ricky had chapped so many asses in the department, university community and donor class, that he will never draw a dime of money from the U. I was told what the deal was, and won't get into the details, but some people have long memories, and remember bridges burned.

Wyo-cat,

Thanks for your short snippet and giving a general overview on my Ricky Hundley comments. I could have put a few other names in there as well but I chose Ricky because I was under the impression he applied for the DL position.

I have often wondered why Ricky has had such difficulty in obtaining a coaching position at the UofA over the years. You are the only one who actually addressed the issue and doing so in general terms that sound very plausible.

It's really unfortunate that Ricky has burned some bridges in the past.

My general thesis was not meant to be a bitch session on why RH was not hired as a DL coach. Personally I don't give two shits if Mickey F**king Mouse is our DL coach as long as he is capable and highly qualified for the duty position.

Thanks for actually addressing my general theme instead of lecturing me on why I'm so stupid as to bring up a general football topic involving RH to begin with.

[Salty]

Look guys, a former assistant AD told me that Ricky had chapped so many asses in the department, university community and donor class, that he will never draw a dime of money from the U. I was told what the deal was, and won't get into the details, but some people have long memories, and remember bridges burned.

This is ridiculous.

Unless you can specifically name an incident or donor names, it's not valid.

If arguably the best football player in this program's history is available to coach, you take him. If someone is so sensitive they can't handle whatever happened years ago, then it's their problem and they need to get over themselves.

[Harvey Specter]

Look guys, a former assistant AD told me that Ricky had chapped so many asses in the department, university community and donor class, that he will never draw a dime of money from the U. I was told what the deal was, and won't get into the details, but some people have long memories, and remember bridges burned.

This is ridiculous.

Unless you can specifically name an incident or donor names, it's not valid.

If arguably the best football player in this program's history is available to coach, you take him. If someone is so sensitive they can't handle whatever happened years ago, then it's their problem and they need to get over themselves.

Sure. Because he played here 35 years ago, you hire him no questions asked.

Who cares if he made accusations of unfairness and mistreatment when he was a lifelong position coach who thought he 'deserved' the head coaching job 16 years ago. By the way, he has still never been more than a position coach since.

I want a guy like that working on my team....

[Salty]

Look guys, a former assistant AD told me that Ricky had chapped so many asses in the department, university community and donor class, that he will never draw a dime of money from the U. I was told what the deal was, and won't get into the details, but some people have long memories, and remember bridges burned.

This is ridiculous.

Unless you can specifically name an incident or donor names, it's not valid.

If arguably the best football player in this program's history is available to coach, you take him. If someone is so sensitive they can't handle whatever happened years ago, then it's their problem and they need to get over themselves.

Sure. Because he played here 35 years ago, you hire him no questions asked.

Who cares if he made accusations of unfairness and mistreatment when he was a lifelong position coach who thought he 'deserved' the head coaching job 16 years ago. By the way, he has still never been more than a position coach since.

I want a guy like that working on my team....

Boy, he made an accusation of unfairness! How awful!

Ban him 4 life! How dare he offend someone 10 years ago.

[the real dill]

[Harvey Specter]

Look guys, a former assistant AD told me that Ricky had chapped so many asses in the department, university community and donor class, that he will never draw a dime of money from the U. I was told what the deal was, and won't get into the details, but some people have long memories, and remember bridges burned.

This is ridiculous.

Unless you can specifically name an incident or donor names, it's not valid.

If arguably the best football player in this program's history is available to coach, you take him. If someone is so sensitive they can't handle whatever happened years ago, then it's their problem and they need to get over themselves.

Sure. Because he played here 35 years ago, you hire him no questions asked.

Who cares if he made accusations of unfairness and mistreatment when he was a lifelong position coach who thought he 'deserved' the head coaching job 16 years ago. By the way, he has still never been more than a position coach since.

I want a guy like that working on my team....

Boy, he made an accusation of unfairness! How awful!

Ban him 4 life! How dare he offend someone 10 years ago.

Spoken from the voice of someone who does not have to manage direct reports.

They were ludicrous accusations from an unqualified candidate who was a grown man at the time. Not exactly someone I would be clamoring to add to my team.

But that should be trumped by his ability to play football 35 years ago? Sure...

[cordera89]

All this time RR has wasted he promoted from within the staff, Vince Amey to Dline Coach and he couldn't do that from very beginning.

Know let see how well our new Defense staff live up to this expectation.

[3goggles]

All this time RR has wasted he promoted from within the staff, Vince Amey to Dline Coach and he couldn't do that from very beginning.

Know let see how well our new Defense staff live up to this expectation.

Pretty sure he wasn't the 1st choice genius! If he was this would've happened sooner

[cordera89]

All this time RR has wasted he promoted from within the staff, Vince Amey to Dline Coach and he couldn't do that from very beginning.

Know let see how well our new Defense staff live up to this expectation.

Pretty sure he wasn't the 1st choice genius! If he was this would've happened sooner

Why get so negative, Maybe he was the first choice, Maybe he wasn't, but RR kept his option open before making the final call and came back him Genius. Even thou should of been done from the beginning if RR thought he hit a home run on a nameless Dline coach's.

[Chicat]

Cordera, you're saying that RR should have hired Amey right away and not bothered to go after anyone more qualified? Why? Just to make sure YOU knew who the DL coach would be in a timely fashion?

[azcat49]

Guarantee you Cordero the defense will be more aggressive and attacking. No more sit back and get picked apart.

I think we will be much better just because of that. Couldn't be any worse that's for sure

[wyo-cat]

Amey may not be everyone's first choice, but I have to admit, the D staff has gotten a lot younger and hungrier. They have something to prove, which is a good situation for our D. The staff will mix up the coaching and calling the game more aggressively. It will be a huge improvement. I for one can't wait to see the product this new staff puts on the field compared to the last

[cordera89]

Cordera, you're saying that RR should have hired Amey right away and not bothered to go after anyone more qualified? Why? Just to make sure YOU knew who the DL coach would be in a timely fashion?

Chi I not going to argue this, I'm saying that too much time was wasted on RR to find Dline coach. but instead he promote from within in which I don't have problem with Amey being our new Dline coach. Who the hell was RR trying to get after? All I'm saying is time was wasted on this search.

[3goggles]

Amey may not be everyone's first choice, but I have to admit, the D staff has gotten a lot younger and hungrier. They have something to prove, which is a good situation for our D. The staff will mix up the coaching and calling the game more aggressively. It will be a huge improvement. I for one can't wait to see the product this new staff puts on the field compared to the last

Oh I am not upset at all off the hire at all. I'm glad we got younger and hopefully he can recruit well in phx with his ties to you know what school. Still kinda hard to think about. How do you recruit against ASSU when you went there yourself!

[3goggles]

Cordera, you're saying that RR should have hired Amey right away and not bothered to go after anyone more qualified? Why? Just to make sure YOU knew who the DL coach would be in a timely fashion?

Chi I not going to argue this, I'm saying that too much time was wasted on RR to find Dline coach. but instead he promote from within in which I don't have problem with Amey being our new Dline coach. Who the hell was RR trying to get after? All I'm saying is time was wasted on this search.

Agree to disagree with you cordera!

[cordera89]

Guarantee you Cordero the defense will be more aggressive and attacking. No.lore sit back and get picked apart.

I think we will be much better just because of that. Couldn't be any worse that's for sure

Let hope your right about that. I'm not riding on that bandwagon until Week 1.

[Chicat]

Cordera, you're saying that RR should have hired Amey right away and not bothered to go after anyone more qualified? Why? Just to make sure YOU knew who the DL coach would be in a timely fashion?

Chi I not going to argue this, I'm saying that too much time was wasted on RR to find Dline coach. but instead he promote from within in which I don't have problem with Amey being our new Dline coach. Who the hell was RR trying to get after? All I'm saying is time was wasted on this search.

I don't agree. For one, the staff changes happened so late that it wasn't like a DLine coach was going to drastically change our recruiting haul this year. For another, it is never a waste of time trying to hire the best guy for the job, even when that doesn't work out quite that way.

[Harvey Specter]

I hope RR reads this thread and thinks of it the next time he laments the lack of fanaticism in our fanbase as a reason to eye greener pastures.

Think some SEC fanatic fanbase would be as supportive of hiring a 40-yr old with no college coaching experience that took this long to get done? He gets lots of kudos for trying to land a big fish, and very little criticism for failing. That's a good gig. Most people would die to make $3MM per a year with such a kind consituency. Being at Arizona has its advantages...

I hope Amey turns out to be a rock star... It is nice to see good guys succeed.

[Chicat]

Oh yeah, check out all the blind loyalty in this thread....

- "Can somebody explain what is taking so effing long to hire the DL coach?"

- "After watching this D line over the last couple of years would you want to coach it?"

- "Still nothing huh! I guess we don't want to land any Dline recruits! Lol"

- "This is taking entirely too long to play out and be finalized. No way in hell a high profile new defensive line coach is waiting to join the UofA staff until after signing day unless he's a freaking sadist. This guy is going to come in and coach a freaking disaster of a unit with zero input to its future player core. I mean seriously we are barely serviceable on the DL as it is and signing day is only days away. Sorry, but I'm not rationalizing this away as late in the game as we are or trying to polish this turd to make myself feel better."

- "Another missed recruiting season on the DL with even less depth and talent. Good lord. We are going to be bad defensively next year and it won't even be open for much debate once you see what another missed recruiting season has done."

- "thanks for overreacting and trusting blindly in our head coach, guys. He'll really appreciate your support after he wins nine games one season down the road, then takes off for the next job offer. Every year, I like football less and less."

- "Underwhelming hire but then again its only the DLine coach."

- "if this was the hire UA should have done everything they could to hide the news since it is very underwhelming based on the wait"

- "What name, at this point, would have been worth the inexplicable wait?"

- "Man even John Mackovic didn't have this much trouble filling an assistant coaching position. Who knows what is happening but this is a PAC 12 assistant job paying a PAC 12 market rate salary so shocked it seems to have been this hard to fill it"

- "Only Arizona football would have trouble luring an alum position coach away from Pullman"


I think we all see what we want to see...

[Alieberman]

Am I the only one who really is not that concerned with who our DL coach is?

Should I be freaking out more?

[ANGCatFan]

Let's see what we know.

College and pro D-lineman. Worked his way from high school, to college strength coach, then an analyst breaking down game and recruit film. Players love him and would run through a brick wall for him and he is already respected by the coaching staff and fits the Arizona culture.

Not a lot of red flags in there.

I'm impressed Amey, at 41, has done the thankless work to get his first assistant coach job. Yes, we had to wait, but the time allowed Coach Rod and Yates time to make sure they were not missing a better option. In the end they chose Amey who was reported to want the position more than anyone else.

Oh, and Dudek got to hit the road during the open period and be our fill in recruiter.

No, I'm not concerned with the hire and you shouldn't be freaking out at all.

[azgreg]

Am I the only one who really is not that concerned with who our DL coach is?

Should I be freaking out more?

[Sid]

Am I the only one who really is not that concerned with who our DL coach is?

Should I be freaking out more?

Nope, just enjoy the ride brother as next season will be a whole Hell of a lot of fun! New faces, new schemes and a savage attacking mentality on D that we've dearly missed.

[Sid]

Let's see what we know.

College and pro D-lineman. Worked his way from high school, to college strength coach, then an analyst breaking down game and recruit film. Players love him and would run through a brick wall for him and he is already respected by the coaching staff and fits the Arizona culture.

Not a lot of red flags in there.

I'm impressed Amey, at 41, has done the thankless work to get his first assistant coach job. Yes, we had to wait, but the time allowed Coach Rod and Yates time to make sure they were not missing a better option. In the end they chose Amey who was reported to want the position more than anyone else.

Oh, and Dudek got to hit the road during the open period and be our fill in recruiter.

No, I'm not concerned with the hire and you shouldn't be freaking out at all.

Great post. You had me at "players love him and would run through a brick wall for him"

[chiefzona]

Who is claiming the players would run through a brick wall for him? It's a default hire and should not be celebrated at all. Not until the results are shown. In the same breath, I will reserve judgement until further assessments are made. I do have a few question marks but I'm sure those will be answered this year.

[catinfl]

Who is claiming the players would run through a brick wall for him? It's a default hire and should not be celebrated at all. Not until the results are shown. In the same breath, I will reserve judgement until further assessments are made. I do have a few question marks but I'm sure those will be answered this year.

The players like him a lot already and were excited when he was named the coach.

[Chicat]

Who is claiming the players would run through a brick wall for him? It's a default hire and should not be celebrated at all. Not until the results are shown. In the same breath, I will reserve judgement until further assessments are made. I do have a few question marks but I'm sure those will be answered this year.

The biggest question mark is how much on the job learning is he going to have to do.

[ANGCatFan]

Who is claiming the players would run through a brick wall for him? It's a default hire and should not be celebrated at all. Not until the results are shown. In the same breath, I will reserve judgement until further assessments are made. I do have a few question marks but I'm sure those will be answered this year.

It was one of the analysts this week on 1290. The full statement was something like - Let's face it. Nobody knows how he will be as a coach, but the current guys on the line love the hire and say they would run through a wall for him.

I haven't seen anyone on this board celebrate the hire, some of us just are taking it in stride. We had one of the oldest defensive staffs in the conference/nation and we have reshaped it with 2 proven coaches and star recruiters from outside of Arizona and 2 young, first-time coaches who have paid their dues on the staff. The changes to the staff make sense to me. This defensive staff should be dramatically better recruiters and their youth may help player relations.

Celebration will only come when the new staff proves they can produce on the field and we are back competing for conference titles.

[ANGCatFan]

The biggest question mark is how much on the job learning is he going to have to do.

Not sure it is a big question mark. He coached under Ragle in high school and Coach Rod knows how Amey was able to motivate players while he was strength and conditioning coach and also about his player and football knowledge from his time as an analyst. Amey is not an unknown commodity.

One of the positive parts of Amey being the last hire is that Coach Yates has had time to interact and talk with him and give his input into the hire.

Nothing sexy about the hire, but you are on the wrong part of the internet if sexy is your priority.

[chiefzona]

Who is claiming the players would run through a brick wall for him? It's a default hire and should not be celebrated at all. Not until the results are shown. In the same breath, I will reserve judgement until further assessments are made. I do have a few question marks but I'm sure those will be answered this year.

The biggest question mark is how much on the job learning is he going to have to do.

That is important. Also, player evaluation, recruiting, and player development.

[ANGCatFan]

My point is the staff and Coach Rod already feel they know the answer to that question mark. They have been able to see his success with players in the weight room as well as judge his football acumen. There is no guarantee his past experience will make him a good coach, but he has already had the chance to prove to the staff he has some of the key skill sets.

Coach Amey has busted his ass to get this shot. Now he has to prove it on the field. Hard not to believe that we aren't going to get his very best effort as a coach and a recruiter.

[threenumberones]

I like that there is a bit of continuity from the last staff, especially considering how most players reacted to Casteel being let go. I like the fact that he has something to prove. I'd guess the DL coach is more about evaluation and motivation than anything else - don't think he needs to be a wizard of any sort. Recruiting is the wildcard, and it sounds like he's both well liked and will bust his butt. So there's potential there.

No problem with how it shook out here. But like others have said, we are going to need at least a competent DL next season before Amey gets out from under the microscope.

[chiefzona]

My point is the staff and Coach Rod already feel they know the answer to that question mark. They have been able to see his success with players in the weight room as well as judge his football acumen. There is no guarantee his past experience will make him a good coach, but he has already had the chance to prove to the staff he has some of the key skill sets.

Coach Amey has busted his ass to get this shot. Now he has to prove it on the field. Hard not to believe that we aren't going to get his very best effort as a coach and a recruiter.

Coach Rod felt he knew about Casteel and trusted that he would be well-paid and giving his best efforts. This isn't about Coach Rod feeling anything. This is about Coach Rod having to resort to his last choice by default. Anyone can give their best effort....at this level, sometimes your best effort isn't good enough. We shall see.

[ANGCatFan]

By default the guy you hire is your last choice.

I don't buy your implication that this was a desperation hire or a poor choice. Yes, we probably looked at some more experienced D-line coaches, but couldn't offer the title or money to draw them in. That doesn't mean Amey wasn't a good hire.

I'm happy with the hire and you are not, but we both agree our opinions don't mean a thing. All that counts is can he recruit and develop quality players and help us win the war of trenches on the defensive side.

[Puerco]

Personally it feels like the only shreds of negativity about this hire are because we were all hoping to get Big Joe.

[Catstatic]

Personally it feels like the only shreds of negativity about this hire are because we were all hoping to get Big Joe.

Completely agree. Must have been some interest from him or Arizona would have moved on and announced a hire much sooner, especially if it was Avey. Joe would have been my favorite hire of the bunch, because you know he would have brought in some beasts on the dline.

Every position hire can't be a homerun. Then again, Avey might surprise us and end up being a homerun hire. Hope so.

Regardless, our defensive staff has been upgraded. Get the defense to top 50 in the country and this team will be very dangerous.

Go Cats!!

[Harvey Specter]

By default the guy you hire is your last choice.

I don't buy your implication that this was a desperation hire or a poor choice. Yes, we probably looked at some more experienced D-line coaches, but couldn't offer the title or money to draw them in. That doesn't mean Amey wasn't a good hire.

I'm happy with the hire and you are not, but we both agree our opinions don't mean a thing. All that counts is can he recruit and develop quality players and help us win the war of trenches on the defensive side.

He has not said it was a poor choice, just a unproven one - that was the result of whiffing on other targets.

Desperation? Not sure about that, but it does seem they got to a point where they had to offer it to someone who would take it. Had Amey been offered sooner, regardless of experience, it would have lended more credence to the idea that RR prioritized (and had confidence in) him.

I have hope for the hire... But the "coached under Ragle at Chaparral" is not high on the list of reasons for optimism - from either a coaching or recruiting standpoint.

[ANGCatFan]

You must be confused by the meaning of implication. I replied to this quote

chiefzona wrote:
This is about Coach Rod having to resort to his last choice by default.

where I believe Chief was implying it was a desperation hire.

The coached under Ragle was just one of the items on his resume. It was listed as a summary of relative experience not to give you a reason for optimism. One point I was trying to make was that Amey has done years of thankless, under paying work to get to the point where he can even be considered for this position. He has put in the time to get his shot at his first college coaching job at the tender young age of 41. The statement that stuck out to me on the hire was that he wanted the job more than anyone else.

[chiefzona]

A desperation hire is when you have no one on staff to fill the position. This is a default hire in which a very respected insider told me off the record that it was a "shit hire". We'll see where he can go from here but the dude is as green as the Atlantic is mean.

[Harvey Specter]

I don't think it is fair to call this a 'shit' hire. It was clearly a backup plan, but sometimes those turn out very well. I see you Pete Carroll.

That said, the 'true believer' crowd (and no, Chi, I do not consider you part of that group) cannot find a way to e critical of anything with respect to the current regime. Maybe any FB regime... my memory is not that good.

In the grand scheme, this past season sucked. This recruiting class was weak (but a decent finish made it better than it could have been). And this hire is a disappointment relative to expectations,

Yes, I am among the more critical of the FB program...but even most of the critical among us have given praise recently where it seemed warranted.

The dogmatic crowd spins everything as a positive. That's fine... Probably even being a good fan. But that group is also the first to make fun of ASU fans as 'delusional' when they do the exact same thing. I am assuming most of you people work in marketing.

See everybody in the fall.. it should be interesting.

[Dkenner]

This was a default hire but I believe Amey will end up being an above average coach(B/B+). I am impressed by what I'm hearing from the DL, He inspires Them and They trust Him.

[wyo-cat]

I'm positive RR felt better giving Amey a chance than retreading some dude who got shit canned after last season. The D coaching staff is the polar opposite of last year: young and something to prove. This team needs to prove something on the field, too. I wanted a bigger name, but I'm cool with this move in the big picture.

[chiefzona]

This was a default hire but I believe Amey will end up being an above average coach(B/B+). I am impressed by what I'm hearing form the DL, He inspires them and They trust him.

That's the best part DK. I hope it all comes together.

[MrBug708]

Usc couldn't even find someone to fill their DL coach and promoted an assistant

[chiefzona]

Usc couldn't even find someone to fill their DL coach and promoted an assistant

Ex-USC player who has coached the DL in college and pros. He has way more experience than Amey plus he isn't a Scum Devil.

[dmjcat]

Culture change on defense:

http://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2 ... ense-ready" target="_blank

[Sid]

Forget who it was, but I thought it was very telling when one defensive player said it's great to actually have the coaches show you what they want by demonstrating the play rather than just telling you what they want.......this was a interview a couple days ago.

Wow!