Arizona Football Head Coach search driving Wildcats fans and players to Twitter

Wow! No coach Yet? That’s what fans seem to be feeling as silence emanates from the office of that Athletic Director Dave Heeke for Arizona Football.

The silence is deafening. As Athletic Director uses a search firm to help him hire a new Arizona Football Head Coach, no word on progress or lack thereof from the program.

Fans have been given such conflicting information or fake information from “sources” on the “inside” that they don’t know what to think.

Is it Athletic Director Dave Heeke’s search firm that is putting out names to media folks to see what the fans think, testing the water so to speak? Maybe.

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Are actual sources on the inside leaking information? Doesn’t seem like it because there are so many conflicting reports.

Do the Tucson Arizona Football beat writers have the best information? Doesn’t look like it because they are giving conflicting information.

How about the blogs? The social media accounts without blogs? Well, some are quoting sources themselves, giving out names of coaches who are either supposedly offered and or deciding or have declined an offer and more.

We cannot report anything unless a verified account has posted something or write something, or we have a direct source. But when the verified accounts disagree, then we have a major problem. What should we write about? How can we bring our fans the best information? We put together a timeline. Hopefully, you will find that helpful.

Fans seem to want Sumlin or a big named coach, or they will feel the search will be a bust. They are not taking into consideration that there are only a couple weeks left to recruit. And they did NOT want Rick Neuheisel who has a lot of Pac-12 experience and is currently a broadcaster on XM Radio’s ESPNU.

When fans heard about Navy Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo, they didn’t know what to think at first, but then the triple option offense he runs at Navy made the news. At Navy, Niumatalolo has to run the triple option due to the type of recruiting that Navy is limited to. But many have explained that the coach would run what made sense at Arizona.

You have to wonder why one verified source states Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M) has been interviewed, but we haven’t been able to confirm it. Fans repeatedly requested Heeke give Sumlin an offer. As fans chime in on Sumlin, it seems some would put this sticker on the back of their cars: “Sumlin or bust!”

As time ticks through the weekend, rumors of Coach Ken going back to his AD, possibly negotiating have surfaced.

Not only that, maybe Coach Ken has an agent who wants Arizona’s fans and players to be happy with him if he accepts. A lot is coming out today about why he is a great choice, and on the east coast, he is highly regarded. An ex-quarterback himself, it would be hard for him not to be interested in this job in my opinion.

Another thing to consider is, the agents of these coaches get them in front of jobs. They stand to make money off of the hire, so they have every incentive to get media to throw out names to get pressure on the AD to interview their guy. Working in the Entertainment industry for a long time, I can tell you that you cannot underestimate the power of agents in this space and there aren’t that many who take care of football coaches.

This tweet made the most sense to us at the time from Adam Rittenberg (ESPN).

If that falls through, then it is looking like maybe Marcel Yates will be the coach by default? Who knows, but the players and commits may be ecstatic about this pick.

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The players are chiming in, and they seem to feel they’re not heard or not supported by fans.

Some think they shouldn’t have a say in the hiring of their new leader. Mostly because they will be gone in a few years and fans are looking for a more long-term coach. Both sides are a little unrealistic.

I feel the players should be heard, after all, they signed up for a certain coaching staff, one they felt could help them play at the next level. A lot of promises are made to them and their families from the program. They put their trust in Marcel Yates, Rich Rodriguez, Rod Smith and all the other assistant coaches.

Past players have spoken about Rodriguez as like a second father, like Will Parks and Jake Fischer, so there is that aspect. The amount of time they spend with their coaches working out, working on the field, working in the film rooms, is immense. It’s like a fraternity.

The coaches convince the players Arizona is their promised land and then they mentor them, travel with them, inspire them, and probably argue with them just like a family.

Well, pops just got kicked out of the family and his brothers that he brought to Tucson with him will probably be leaving as well due to the circumstances. The players have a point of view. You know, the young men who entertain you each week for months and train the rest of the year to get better so they can win games for you? Yeah, those guys, your Wildcats. Their dad and uncles just got ripped away from them; it’s traumatic.

In a world where anything can be typed into a tweet by the most powerful of men in this world, why wouldn’t it be okay for young men to tweet what’s on their mind? Well fans are fickle, that’s why. On the flipside, the players need guidance in this area; they need to learn how to organize so they are taken seriously and the backlash stays at a minimum.

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With the advent of social media, the opportunity for the players to voice their opinions is available, easily available. So as shock set in, some key young stars on the team, stars who won awards and broke records as freshmen or sophomores, took to the internet to voice their opinions. Basically, they don’t want Heeke to take away uncle Yates! Players who have signed and those who have committed are also feeling their power, if they have some, and chiming in to keep Defensive Coordinator Marcel Yates. A hire that was applauded by most Arizona Football fans.

I feel they have a right to speak up and at least asked to be heard. The fact they are taking to social media to me means possibly that the SIDs and others in the program are just as shook up and aren’t helping these guys with their feelings. I am thinking a daily meeting is in order. Pick a few leaders for next year, and have those players lead a discussion. Once they come up with three requests, not demands, but requests, the leaders should be able to meet with Heeke and discuss on a daily basis the situation.

Any issues that come up with players and their feelings should be taken up with Heeke. Heeke along with the SIDs need to give these players some social media and PR education on what will help their cause and what won’t. There is a way to say things where you can get your point across and not piss off fans. It seems there is no guidance here that we can see.

That said, some fans have been downright mean to the players. That then caused the players to shout back. There is no magic pill, but getting a new coach so late in the recruiting process, something should be done to mitigate a rash of players feeling not heard and stop them from feeling that they should be thinking about transferring. Why not give them reasons to stay and help them feel supported.

Treating the players like crap will not bring the best players to Arizona, plain and simple. It won’t bring a great coach either. Come on now.Fans can be leaders themselves, set good examples. This is an excellent opportunity to sit down the players speaking out to get the pulse of the team and help them navigate proper social media posting with guidelines. What works best? This is so much a part of being a professional player in the NFL it should be a class.

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Seems like the clock is ticking…maybe we will have a new coach by Monday or maybe the players will be celebrating and playing really well for coach Yates who will probably keep his crew together.