AzCatFan2 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:02 pm
Stoops wasn't a bad hire at all. He was a top assistant and one of the hottest names out there. And what he built from the ground up at Arizona was a solid football team that came within a whisker of a Rose Bowl in a year when the best returning player, Gronk, didn't play a minute due to injury. It's too bad Stoops couldn't control himself on the sideline, and ran off top assistants and couldn't replace them with guys of equal quality. If Sonny Dykes was with Stoops from the beginning instead of Canales, probably would have won a few more in the early years, and gone to another bowl game or two.
RR wasn't a bad hire either. A retread sure, but also a reclamation project after being fired from Michigan a year before the Wolverines won 10-games with a team RR built. RR also lead us to a 10-win season, and 5 bowl games in 6 years. It's too bad that his off-field issues made retaining RR a tough sell, because we likely beat BYU early and ASu late in and go at least 7-5 in 2018 and again go bowling with RR. And Arizona isn't the kind of school to fire a coach that goes to a bowl game.
We're not Alabama where you get the right guy and just cruise because you get whomever you want. Or even USC, where there's so much talent that you have to try hard to not have a 10-win season. We're Arizona, and we're going to ebb and flow and have to rebuild and suffer through the occasional difficult season. If we can find a coach that can average 7.5 wins to 8 wins a year, that would be successful, especially if it comes with the occasional 10-win season, even if it means the occasional 5-win or less season. Tomey was close with a .59 winning percentage and two, 10-win seasons, but after 14-years and no Rose Bowls, the welcome became stale. Especially after going 11-12 the two years after going 12-1 in 1998.
The next two years are likely going to be very lean, regardless of whom we hire. Let's hope we can get another Stoops who can build from the ground up so we can at least be competitive in 2022, before we hopefully start winning big in 2023. Because that's what we're looking at after what Sumlin has left us, and after all his best players have left us too.
Solid post. Pretty much my opinions of Stoops and RichRod.
To me Stoops was a good recruiter, average to above average developer of talent, bad in game coach.
RichRod was a great developer of talent, average in game coach, below average to bad recruiter. If Rich Rod could recruit he would've been great here.
Sumlin was......Mackovic.
Ken N to me would be a good in game coach, good developer of talent, below average recruiter. He would probably work out. Very Tomey like. Might never get to the Rose Bowl, but at least gives you the occasional shot at it
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 7:27 pm
by UofAlum05
I would envision a Poor Mans Utah type program under Ken N.
UofAlum05 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 7:27 pm
I would envision a Poor Mans Utah type program under Ken N.
I envision a Utah like program. Whittingham is not a very good recruiter(at least ranking wise), but he develops the hell out of who he gets.
Of course with the latest reports of Ken N not even talking to Arizona I would guess we end up with Adam Gase in January.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 8:53 pm
by scumdevils86
The last 3 years of my life must've flown by because I feel like we were just having this conversation.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:07 pm
by prh
scumdevils86 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 3:23 pm
Regardless of who we hire I'll be shocked if we can manage more than a couple wins a year in 2021 and 2022.
Transfer market going to be hot this year and especially good for bad P5 schools. Until we have a coach and a roster, there's a wide range of outcomes.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:23 pm
by In re UofA
We can be middle of the road next year if our guys dont all bounce, they buy in and we get some transfers in. It’s not like the Pac has world beaters.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 10:06 pm
by btfd16
I mean, any coach that comes has to have the least expectations ever... it’s like a guaranteed 4 years at least
I can’t remember the last time a coach acknowledged they’d had conversations about a job they hadn’t been offered or accepted. Hell, most guys pretend they’ve never even heard of a school until they show up to the presser announcing they’ve been hired.
“There’s a NEW Mexico??”
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2020 11:59 pm
by TatetheGreat
I think we’ll end up with Brennan and Salave’a. And Fipp if the Eagles don’t retain him.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 7:35 am
by Basketcats
Chicat wrote: ↑Thu Dec 17, 2020 10:23 pm
“There’s a NEW Mexico??”
?????
Is Danny Gonzales jumping ship or am I reading too much into your post?
If he is, don't know anything about the guy and not sure of if he would be a good hire.
No matter who we hire, at the press conference I'd give anything to hear Heeke's famous "A new chapter of Arizona football begins--and there's been some great chapters here!" speech again. That was the highlight of the Kevin Sumlin era for me.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:44 am
by MountainCat
Does anyone have an online link to watch Heeke’s press conference?
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 11:29 am
by BearDown89
This is a text from my best friend. He coached at BSU a long time ago under Pokey Allen and coached Harsin when he was a walk on at BSU. Longtime high school football coach in the Boise area at several different schools and well-connected to the local HS football scene. I texted him when I saw these Harsin musings. We talked about it in more detail later, but this is the gist of his take:
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 11:29 am
by Merkin
MountainCat wrote: ↑Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:44 am
Does anyone have an online link to watch Heeke’s press conference?
It was on the Arizona Athletic's FB page, but unwatchable due to lack of any content.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:44 pm
by catgrad97
Any Arizona football head coaching candidate that even has the whisper of a rumor attached to him that "he won't recruit" is DOA for this job IMHO.
Next!
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 1:01 pm
by Chicat
catgrad97 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:44 pm
Any Arizona football head coaching candidate that even has the whisper of a rumor attached to him that "he won't recruit" is DOA for this job IMHO.
Next!
If you're talking about Harsin, that text didn't give me the impression he doesn't recruit. Instead I got the impression that the local coaches don't like him much because he doesn't recruit their kids. So he might not be the guy to keep Arizona and Tucson kids in the fold, if that's important to us. But I don't think the knock is "doesn't recruit at all".
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 1:47 pm
by catgrad97
"At all" shouldn't matter, especially when we're looking at a program with a cupboard as bare as Arizona's.
We absolutely, desperately need our next coaching staff to be power recruiters. Negligence in this area since Tomey, frankly, has killed his legacy and formed the foundation of an existential crisis.
To an outsider looking at who has been hired since, the profile has been more "Who can hold his liquor" than "will outwork the other guy in recruiting." This is becoming a feature of this program, not a bug.
Only a legacy coach like Brennan or a disciplinarian and character-first coach like Niumatalolo can change that culture. Any kind of coach with a lazy rep in the recruiting arena, earned or not, isn't going to restore our good qualities Tomey's and Smith's recruits worked so hard to build.
The U of A has lost way too much Tucson talent to be excusable. Heck, even Smith lost Rodney Peete to SC. "Young, hungry" coaches don't have talk following them they won't recruit locally. We need to stop falling into the trap of overlooking that.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 2:03 pm
by azgreg
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 5:28 pm
by azgreg
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 5:31 pm
by 84Cat
MountainCat wrote: ↑Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:44 am
Does anyone have an online link to watch Heeke’s press conference?
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 5:39 pm
by azgreg
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:32 pm
by ChooChooCat
Well if Chuck Oliver says so.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 11:10 pm
by Chicat
Chuck reads message boards. But not very closely.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 1:22 am
by azcat49
Who’s the one candidate who turned us down? Someone has to read Scheer
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 1:47 am
by Lando05
azcat49 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 19, 2020 1:22 am
Who’s the one candidate who turned us down? Someone has to read Scheer
Think retread who coached at U of A before with Texas ties.
ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:46 am
FWIW I'm hearing tomorrow is a real good possibility if not extremely likely.
Extremely likely for what...?
The hire is made.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:47 am
by Merkin
and why no more retreads!
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:49 am
by azcat49
So Ken N or BB? Best guess
Sonny couldn’t get out of AZ fast enough so no surprise he gave us a hard pass
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:52 am
by prh
If tomorrow is the day, gotta be Brennan, right? Every single mid major guy who gets snatched up, coaches the conference title game, ignores the question post game, and announces the next day.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:54 am
by azcat49
Yea that’s what I thought PRH. Maybe all this other stuff has been just smoke abd BB has been the guy since last week
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:58 am
by Chicat
Nothing stopping us from hiring Ken N. today, unless we're giving Brennan a perfunctory interview tomorrow morning, which would be weird.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 10:09 am
by azgreg
Isn't Harsin still in the mix?
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 10:20 am
by prh
azgreg wrote: ↑Sat Dec 19, 2020 10:09 am
Isn't Harsin still in the mix?
Sounded like he's looking for a raise like Cristobal just got
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 10:49 am
by ChooChooCat
If it's not Nuimatalolo or Brennan I'd be shocked.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 11:02 am
by cordera89
ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Sat Dec 19, 2020 10:49 am
If it's not Nuimatalolo or Brennan I'd be shocked.
Well let see? Heeke better think long and hard on who to choose. Because the two choices are force on him.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 11:25 am
by BBQ wildcat
When was the job opening posted? Doesn't it have to be up for 5 days before any hire could be announced? Maybe that's what is holding it up until tomorrow.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 11:26 am
by In re UofA
Google, is Alex Grinch a good coach?
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 12:26 pm
by UofAlum05
Alex Grinch would be a homerun hire! I'm on the Nui or Brennan train but Grinch gives me pause.
Re: New Coach Hot Board
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2020 12:53 pm
by azgreg
BBQ wildcat wrote: ↑Sat Dec 19, 2020 11:25 am
When was the job opening posted? Doesn't it have to be up for 5 days before any hire could be announced? Maybe that's what is holding it up until tomorrow.
