Great news: Arizona Football new Head Coach Kevin Sumlin keeping Marcel Yates

Players and fans rejoice as reports have come out that former Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin will be the new Arizona Football head coach and keep Defensive Coordinator Marcel Yates.

Arizona Athletic Director Dave Heeke looks like a genius today, if and when he confirms the reports by all the verified accounts that former TAMU head coach Kevin Sumlin will be the new Arizona Football Head coach. Brett McMurphy reported that the deal with Sumlin is for five years. Also reported by Bruce Feldman was that Sumlin would keep Marcel Yates (don’t know if this was part of the deal with AD Dave Heeke or Sumlin’s decision) in place as Defensive Coordinator and hire his former Offensive Coordinator from Texas A&M Noel Mazzone as Arizona’s OC.

Heeke went after highly regarded Navy Football head coach Ken Niumatalolo and got turned down. Not putting Sumlin at the top of the list could have been a great ploy to get a better deal and more in the contract in Arizona’s favor with Kevin Sumlin. Leverage is always the name of the game, and you have to think about the few very influential football coaching agents out there who work the media and the NCAA and NFL administrations like no other. It’s interesting to note: Tate was recruited by Sumlin as a quarterback, not an athlete, so the two are familiar with each other and Sumlin understands what a great talent he has in Tate.

So fans are happy, players are happy, and ASU fans are not. Well, there is that for ya!

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We don’t know if President Dave Robbins and Athletic Director Dave Heeke were listening to the Arizona Football players who pushed for Marcel Yates and his staff to stay around in some capacity. But we did see Robbins sitting courtside with two Arizona Football leaders, Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Khalil Tate and multiple award getter on defense freshman Colin Schooler.

We heard from people close to the situation that possibly a petition was signed by players to help keep their beloved Defensive Coordinator around or to make him the head coach. The players seem to adore Yates and the atmosphere he brings to the team and how he relates and connects with everyone. Also, the players want and need some familiarity in the staff to continue their unfinished business. They seemed to feel like Yates can bring all that out of them and more.

Well, they got their wish, so kudos to them for standing up for the coach they felt is great for the team. Any coach who has his players pulling for him has to be doing something right. At least we know Tony Fields II is happy with the Sumlin/Yates combo.

Demetrius Flannagan-Fowles who will be a senior safety next season is happy about the hire and keeping Yates.

The players had every right to share their opinion as to their experience with Coach Yates, and they believe he would be the best fit for them and Arizona in general. We want to teach our young people that they have a voice, and if they want to use it, they should. The fans use their voices and express their opinions on who they wanted the next coach to be at Arizona. The fans opinions count as well, but the decision won’t matter much to their daily lives or their future careers.

Arizona’s senior defense leader Dane Cruikshank had high praise for Coach Yates; he seemed to be speaking for his team saying that the players “believe in him.” That’s big in my book.

I don’t think that young people are given enough credit sometimes. I think that these players are not only looking for a great coach for their teammates for this upcoming season, but they are smart and intuitive enough to understand that the decision of the next head coach is for the future of the program too. After they graduate and move on they want the recruits they are also helping to bring to Arizona to have coaches they will want to play for.  Of all people, the players want Arizona football to be left in good hands and to keep progressing into winning program that they envision.

Yates did his best in coaching the defense given their size and skill level and abilities and even earned admiration from the leader on offense, quarterback Khalil Tate, so there has to be something special that he brings to the program. An Intangible.

If Yates first-year freshman recruits did as well as they did then Yates needs to be given credit for recruiting them, getting them to come to Arizona, their performance considering most of the stars were freshmen and all the accolades they earned.

This was the first season his recruiting classes played, and they were all freshman or redshirt freshmen, he inherited the sophomores to seniors on defense. The defense may not have been the best in the Pac-12, but the defense was ten times better than last season. The honors bestowed on the likes of Colin Schooler, Tony Fields II, and Kylan Wilborn show that in a short amount of time he recruited and coached these players to excellence. Throw in Scottie Young, who was injured there for a few games and next year is looking fabulous.

In addition to Yates, All-American Fields II, Young, and Flannagan-Fowles believe that safeties Coach Jahmile Addae is a keeper as well. Addae has a lot to be proud of with his crew. Along with doing a great job, Addae has ties to Las Vegas. Bishop Gorman High School is one of the best if not number one in the country, so Vegas ties are important to recruiting. If you just look at what a great player Fields II has become in just one season, you can imagine that Yates will try to keep him on the staff.

Must Read: Arizona Football hires Kevin Sumlin as new head coach per reports

Keeping recruits, commits and the players happy, giving them some consistency can only help with the success of the team under Sumlin next season. Signing day is only three and a half weeks away and with 16 recruits who will probably now be happy staying. Keeping Yates is a great decision by Sumlin (and Heeke) who worked with him at TAMU. Next questions become, will Jamarye Joiner keep his commitment to Arizona now and will Sumlin bring on some Arizona Legends to help guide the team?