Things are getting pretty wild in the Arizona Football head coaching search, and already in Week Two of the search, Ex-Cat Antonio Pierce expresses interest.
It has been a wild 72 hours for the Arizona Football team, as the program ramps up their coaching search. After reportedly interviewing candidates like Brent Brennan, Jedd Fisch, and Alex Grinch, it seems there could be another candidate in the mix now in former Wildcat, Antonio Pierce.
Yes Pierce, the once disgruntled ex-Wildcat linebacker who is now at rival Arizona State, slowly climbing the college coaching ranks, is reportedly interested in the head coaching job here in Tucson.
Arizona Wildcats
While somewhat shocking because of his strained relationship with the Cats, I can tell you as a lifelong fan, nothing has been more painful than seeing the one-time Arizona standout, being able to find success in Tempe.
Driven from pure jealously, I would love nothing more than to see Pierce leave Tempe for Tucson, especially if the rumors of him being interested in the head coaching job at Arizona are true!
A young coach with a fiery passion and a talent for recruiting and coaching stout defenses, this seems like it would be a win, especially when you consider the rising candidacy of Jedd Fisch.
Assuming this relationship does get fixed here, Antonio checks off a lot of boxes for the Wildcats.
He is young, he understands Arizona and its challenges, he possesses a great deal of passion, and he’d be hungry to prove himself.
So with Antonio becoming a more serious candidate for the Wildcats, we take a look at his resume.
Antonio Pierce
Age: 42
Current Role: Co-Defensive Coordinator with Arizona State
Alma Mater: Arizona
Coaching Record: 31-15 (HS)
Resume:
- As a Player
- Mount San Antonio College – 1997-98
- Arizona – 1999-00
- Washington Redskins – 2001-04
- New York Giants – 2005-09
- As a Coach
- Long Beach Poly HS (Head Coach) – 2014-17
- ASU (Linebackers Coach) – 2018-19
- ASU (Co-Defensive Coordinator – 2020-Present
At first glance, yes, Antonio is a little light. He has only been coaching at the Collegiate level for just three seasons now, joining ASU head coach Herm Edwards in Tempe.
Granted, he doesn’t have any head coaching experience, so there is a huge learning curve for him, but he does have solid recruiting ties, and he can relate to the players very well.
However, does he also have the chops to elevate the recruiting at Arizona, and is he equipped to guide the Wildcats out of the Pac-12 cellar? Who knows, but he could be well worth the risk, and if a repaired relationship is all we get from it, that seems like it could be a win too!
At Zona Zealots, we’re interested to see how the coaching search continues to play out and we will continue to follow and bring updates the best we can. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!