Arizona Football: It’s Official, Rich Rod to Return

All is well in Wildcats land, depending on how you feel about it, no change in coaching for the Football team.

According to Wildcat Authority, in a Tuesday morning meeting, Arizona Athletic Director Greg Byrne informed a group of boosters that embattled head football coach Rich Rodriguez would return next year.

In the midst of a disastrous season that has seen the Wildcats winless in the Pac-12 and losers of seven straight games, it’s ironic to think back to less than ten months ago. At that time most Arizona fans feared Rich Rod might leave Tucson for greener pastures. Or, that two years ago, the ‘Cats appeared to be on the rise, winning their first Pac-12 South title.

They say hindsight is 20/20, and it’s certainly interesting to look back at Rich Rod’s time in Tucson. It’s a fair question, are we that much better off now than we were when Byrne made the bold move in hiring him?

Some Painful Facts

Other than that one Fiesta Bowl, the team has been a perennial 2nd- or even 3rd-tier Bowl attendee. This year, of course, there will not even be the toilet bowl. And let’s face it, in today’s NCAA football world it’s really not that difficult to become bowl eligible.

Michigan fired Coach Rodriguez because of his abysmal defenses–And that trend has certainly carried over to his time at Arizona.

More alarming, however, is the shocking regression seen on the offensive side of the ball,

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Rich Rod’s baby. Some of this can be blamed on injuries, but not all. Even when healthy, for example, Anu Solomon seems to have gone backward regarding confidence, and his play. Even when healthy, for example, Anu Solomon seems to have lost some of his mojo each of the last two years. To be clear, this isn’t a condemnation of Anu. He has proven without a doubt he can be exceptional at this level. Instead, it’s meant to question why it’s happened.Even when healthy, for example, Anu Solomon seems to have lost some of his mojo each of the last two years. To be clear, this isn’t a condemnation of Anu. He has proven without a doubt he can be exceptional at this level. Instead, it’s meant to question why it’s happened.

Finally, Rich Rod admits himself, he and his staff have failed in the recruiting game, forcing the ‘Cats to start a ridiculous number of freshmen and walk-ons. The silver lining is that the new defensive coaching regime is doing a great job recruiting and a lot of big D-Line players are coming in next season.

So what does Byrne’s patience with the coach mean to Arizona fans? Was this season simply a cursed aberration, or an indication that Rich Rod may not be the savior he initially appeared to be?

You cannot make some of this stuff up, as Rich Rod said in the Colorado post game conference, check this out (Start at 1:23, Rich Rod a tad incoherent but can you blame him?):

Will the much ballyhooed 2017 recruiting class be enough to get the program headed back in the right direction? Or is Arizona ultimately “just a basketball school,” and fans hopes and expectations simply unreasonable for the program to sustain?

Must Read: Reminder, Arizona lost Cody Ippolito for the season, the season!

What do you think? Leave your comments below.