Arizona Football loses running back coach Clarence McKinney
As we progress through the 2018-19 off-season, the Arizona Football team will have to replace one of its top assistants for next year.
Always to be expected with every football program, but coaching changes happen all the time. This off-season, the Arizona Football team will not be any stranger to a little turnover.
It had been rumored for a little while now, but running back coach Clarence McKinney had been considered a potential candidate for the head coaching job at Texas Southern.
Arizona Wildcats
Finally, on Saturday it was announced that McKinney would be heading back to the Lone-Star state to take on his first head coaching gig. On Monday, he will officially be introduced by the school.
The move is a big one for him, and definitely a tough loss for the Wildcats.
This will be the first head coaching job for coach McKinney at the collegiate level, but will be a good move for him.
He first joined Kevin Sumlin’s staff in 2008, when he became the running back coach at Houston. In his first season with the Cougars, he helped Bryce Beall to the C-USA Freshman of the Year honors, while he also became the first freshman in UH history to rush for more than 1,000 yards.
From there he followed Sumlin to College Station to coach at Texas A&M in 2012. In his first season with the Aggies, he helped put together the best rushing offense in the SEC with the utilization Ben Malena, Christine Michael, Trey Williams and Johnny Manziel.
Now having spent time in Tucson this past year, he helped the Wildcats put up the 37th ranked overall rushing offense. He also helped J.J. Taylor in running for 1,432 yards (Nick Wilson was the last Arizona RB to run for over 1,000 yards). Gary Brightwell also amassed for over 500 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Now he will transition to Houston, where he will take over a Tigers program that finished 2-9 this past season.
For Arizona, the loss is a pretty sizable one, as McKinney is easily seen as one of Arizona’s better assistants. He has been a productive part of Sumlin’s staff dating back to 2008, and the move is a big one for him.
The Wildcats will have to replace a proven coach with good recruiting ties and will have to work to ensure they are able to keep the commitment of current 2019 running back recruit, Michael Wiley.
Credit to coach McKinney as he visited Wiley last week to tell him the news. Huge integrity move by coach!
Credit to Clarence McKinney. Went in-home with Michael Wiley today to tell him about Texas Southern. Not a lot of coaches do that stuff face to face.
— stunna (@stunnaIo) December 2, 2018
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At Zona Zealots, we are happy for coach McKinney and wish him the best moving forward. It was a well-deserved opportunity and we hope the Wildcats are able to fill his shoes! Bear Down, Arizona!