Welcome to the world of college football, already ten days since firing head coach Rich Rodriguez, and the Arizona Football team still doesn’t have its man.
It’s officially a circus in Tucson. After the untimely and unforeseen firing of Rich Rodriguez, the Arizona Football team doesn’t have a head coach, and we have no idea who’s a serious candidate.
If you have been following the Arizona Football head coaching search the past week or so, congrats, that makes a few of us. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make us anymore knowledgeable of who the next head coach will be.
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During this process, we’ve heard a lot of names, and a lot of rumors. All of which we aren’t sure which are substantiated, and which are just rumors.
To recap, this is what we know…
January 2nd – Rich Rodriguez was let go on Tuesday evening amid allegations of sexual misconduct at Arizona.
January 2nd – Arizona defensive coordinator Marcel Yates becomes the interim head coach at Arizona. Current players begin vying for Yates to become Arizona’s next head coach.
Marcel Yates=Head Coach!!!! @Dave_Heeke
— Tony Fields II (@T_Fields1) January 3, 2018
January 3rd – Former LSU head coach Les Miles expresses interest in coaching vacancy at Arizona.
January 4th – The University of Arizona officially posts the job online.
January 6th – Cal offensive coordinator, and former Eastern Washington head coach, Beau Baldwin emerges as a legitimate candidate for the coaching vacancy.
January 9th – Troy head coach Neal Brown also emerges as a legitimate candidate for the Arizona head coaching vacancy.
January 10th – Brown reportedly no longer a candidate for the head coaching job at Arizona. Told his team he will be returning, despite interviewing.
January 10th – Former UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel rumored to be a candidate, but those rumors were apparently exaggerated.
January 10th – Western Kentucky’s Mike Sanford reportedly a finalist for the Arizona head coaching position.
January 11th – Sanford denies reports that he’s a major candidate, says “he is committed to the WKU job and excited about the future here .”
January 11th – Former Texas A&M, head coach Kevin Sumlin, was reportedly seen in Tucson. This after many were led to believe Sumlin to be a leading candidate for the head coaching position, and an announcement could be imminent from non-verified accounts.
David Kelly of KGUN 9 confirmed that Sumlin was indeed in Tucson, but we have no proof that he met with, or if Arizona is legitimately considering Sumlin. He is seemingly the fan favorite though.
#ArizonaWildcats UPDATE: Kelly Abbott, co-owner of #RinconMarket has CONFIRMED to me that football coaching candidate #KevinSumlin was indeed at their location today. pic.twitter.com/GuNrNDv2CL
— David Kelly (@DavidKelly1290) January 12, 2018
January 12th- Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo reportedly becomes a serious candidate for the Arizona head coaching position, and could be the leader.
January 13th AM- A lot of momentum brewing that Niumatalolo could be Arizona’s next head coach and that an announcement could happen later today, like this veiled tweet…
Have been told a decision has been made and would expect an official announcement on Saturday. Have been told a name but want to triple check
— Brad Allis (@WSRBrad) January 13, 2018
January 13th Midday- Reports are that a decision has not been made, and it is unlikely one comes today (the 13th). Niumatalolo is back in Annapolis currently, overseeing a recruiting weekend.
Sources indicate that a deal with Ken Niumatalolo is not imminent. As of now, expectation is that nothing will be announced today. Could change in a hurry, but that is how it currently stands.
— stunna (@stunnaIo) January 13, 2018
The Capital has confirmed that Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo was at Ricketts Hall today to oversee a recruiting weekend.
— Bill Wagner (@BWagner_CapGaz) January 13, 2018
At this point, we have no idea who leads, who the serious candidates are and if Arizona is even close to hiring a head coach.
National Signing day is in three weeks, and the Wildcats don’t have a coach. Once that head coach is hired, you will likely have to gather a new staff together, settle your roster after transfers could potentially happen, and recruit like heck with just two weekends left to finish the class.
If the investigation of sexual misconduct had been ongoing since October, and Athletic Director Dave Heeke was aware of this, he had to have been thinking a firing could be eminent at the conclusion of the season. Especially after the team lost three of their last four games in the regular season, closing out with a loss to rival ASU.
So far, there has been a lot of conflicting information out there, and we should still try and be as patient as possible.
However, one thing we can all agree on, is being frustrated and not having any answers at this point. Even after the school spent money on a coaching search firm, we are getting a lot of recycled names that are not serious candidates.
Site Expert Shereen Rayan spoke with Mark Rodgers about the rumors and more and her thoughts on the whole situation including getting Alumni back in the fold at the very least.
Must Read: More on Arizona Football
At Zona Zealots, we’re just as anxious as everyone and want to know who the next head coach will be. Hopefully, the transition goes smoothly, and whoever is in charge, can guide the current roster to prosperity in 2018! Bear Down, Arizona!