Report: Rich Rod to Arizona
Rich Rod is the leading candidate for the University of Arizona job according to multiple twitter sources. Nothing concrete but very interesting. There was talk that ASU would consider him if Erikson left.
EDIT: confirmed by Bruce Feldmen. Apparently they will be announcing within the next 48 hours.
EDIT: It's official. The University of Arizona has hired Rich Rod as their next head coach. Goodluck to him.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:22 PM ^
Expected to be announced as coach in the next 48 hours per Bruce Feldman
November 21st, 2011 at 5:22 PM ^
November 21st, 2011 at 5:22 PM ^
Hey they let Stoop suck it up in AZ for years least he would get a shot the time he said he needed.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:23 PM ^
As long as 'Arizona Man' isn't a thing, it's probably a good fit.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:44 PM ^
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Wildcats#Traditions
To: RichRod. Pls study 4 ur own good. TIA.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:51 PM ^
If you read 3&O, you would know that RR did a lot to study to Michigan traditions in light of NO internal coaching. He hadn't gotten around to the #1 jersey yet by the time our asshat former All-American popped off to the media.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:23 PM ^
and let him run the D
November 21st, 2011 at 5:45 PM ^
Hopefully Dick Tomey doesn't have an office down the hall and Tedi Bruschi isn't coming back to Tucson to tell the new guy "we own this program."
November 21st, 2011 at 6:26 PM ^
Most people in Arizona are originally from somewhere else, and even the ones who were born there don't give a rip about "outsiders". The most popular U of A coach of all time was Lute Olson, who came from Iowa. I think RR would be a good fit there, and transition issues should be minimal as QB Nick Foles (a west coast type who would not fit in a spread and shred) is a senior.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:24 PM ^
Congrats to RR and I wish him well at ARI if that is indeed his landing spot.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:06 PM ^
well. With the right staff, I can see him being successful at Arizona.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:24 PM ^
RR could succeed in AZ. He should get full cooperation, and I would imagine he has figured out that he should delegate his defense to someone who can do the job. There is plenty of talent out there, and Oregon proved that a school can build a decent program in a short amount of time if enough resources are spend toward that end.
There are some nice Juco programs on the west coast, and AZ will probably let him recruit a few Juco transfers to get started.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:24 PM ^
would probably do well with the weaker defenses in the pac twelve
November 21st, 2011 at 6:25 PM ^
Tell that to every Michigan team that had to play USC.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:24 PM ^
he can bring greg robinson along with him. those pac-12 defenses can suck it up together.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:25 PM ^
I will look forward to seeing how he does out there
November 21st, 2011 at 5:26 PM ^
I wish him luck. He actually could make the Pac-12 interesting with the right staff.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:29 PM ^
I wonder if he's going to have to go toe to toe with Meyer for staff, if the coaching world either a) will wait and see what OSU does or b) RR doesn't put a staff in place until hiring season anyway.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:39 PM ^
If Meyer went to OSU, it suddenly becomes an in-demand gig again since I presume that would happen only in a scenario where NCAA sanctions were deemed workable by Meyer, and of course, if he actually wanted the job. I would imagine that he could put together a staff that would quickly eliminate Walrusball anyway....
If RR goes to Arizona, my guess is that he would probably informally try to assemble a staff fairlyquickly, but perhaps we wouldn't hear much until early next year.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:45 PM ^
It gets even more interesting when you think they have similar desires from an x's and o's standpoint, even if their actual play on the field looks pretty different. With Magee and Co. settled at Pitt, and Meyer's old guys...wherever they went to, they might both be interviewing a fair amount of people without much (or any) prior connection.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:50 PM ^
Can you imagine a mix-and-match of their respective WV and Florida staffs (representatives of both on each staff)? That would make for some intriguing teams....
November 21st, 2011 at 5:48 PM ^
November 21st, 2011 at 8:25 PM ^
I hope he's smart enough to only take the offensive assistants from Michigan and Casteel from WV.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:26 PM ^
transfer to Arizona?
I hope it's true, and wish him all the luck in the world.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:27 PM ^
I look forward to playing Arizona in the Rose Bowl year after year.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:32 PM ^
how is this flamebait? I want him to succeed and I think he will... as I think we will as well.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:06 PM ^
because everyone keeps saying the same thing in every single RR thread.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:27 PM ^
Can he have Casteel for his own sanity? Seriously, is Casteel available to join RichRod? I've lost track of the WVA coaching situation.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:31 PM ^
lots of rumors about Holgerson wanting his own guy in there for defense, would not be surprised at all to see Casteel and RichRod Reunite.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:31 PM ^
He shouldn't be that dependent on one assistant. He's got to let the fixation on the 3-3-5 go, and let his DC run whatever he wants.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:34 PM ^
What he needs is a good DC. And a good AD.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:43 PM ^
He needs a good DC and the willingness to let that DC run his own defense. In 2008 he had the first (Shafer), but not the second.
I'm curious to see where he'll go from here. Will he try to reunite his old WVU staff? He seems very loyal to them, but it might be better for him to go in a new direction (especially regarding the secondary).
November 21st, 2011 at 5:45 PM ^
Isn't that what we ran for the better part of the season till the Purdue game?
November 21st, 2011 at 5:52 PM ^
didn't hire his own staff, they were all former WVU dudes.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:56 PM ^
We ran a 4-3 but it was not really Shafer's defense. He's big on bump-and-run coverage and sending pressure from lots of different places. We didn't do much of either.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:46 PM ^
it was more of a whiff-and-stumble defense.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:54 PM ^
What he really needs are better defensive position coaches. for all the grief VERY rightly takes, the positional fundamentals and understanding were as much of a problem as the overall scheme.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:59 PM ^
VERY should obviously be GERG
November 21st, 2011 at 5:28 PM ^
his life lessons at Michigan help him reach his potential. Who knows, he may still get the chance to take a team to the Rose Bowl.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:28 PM ^
I'm sure he and his non-traditional brand of football will work well out there with all those alternative styles. Recruiting academics shouldn't be an issue now as well. Also, low expectations from a primarily.... (basketball I guess) school, where football is probably less important than the pre- and post- games for most students.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:55 PM ^
Low expectations is dead-on. Football in all of Arizona is dead and fans are apathetic about U of A and ASU outside of the Territorial Cup game. The ASU gig will open up also by the end of the year if not sooner, Dennis Erickson is toast. He'll have time to get his stuff together, although I recommend he beat ASU fairly regularly - which U of A has managed to do the last two years even with awful teams.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:06 PM ^
ASU beat U of A last year....
November 21st, 2011 at 6:27 PM ^
Oh, right - the Zendejas kicking fiasco, missing the XP that would have won the game and a field goal in OT. On that note, U of A's kicking woes should make RR feel at home!
November 21st, 2011 at 6:36 PM ^
I was at that game. Great finish for my Sun Devils. Both missed XPs were more because of the defense.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:47 PM ^
There is no defense that can block a proper extra point attempt. It takes a low kick, bad snap, or combination of factors that the offense has complete control of. The Devils were extremely lucky to win that game last year and in hindsight, maybe they wish they hadn't - Erickson may be gone and the program would be further along in its recovery.
This from an entirely neutral observer, M grad with no affiliation to either UofA or ASU, who lives in the valley.
November 21st, 2011 at 7:04 PM ^
Both blocked, neither missed. It was a miracle finish but the defense definitely had something to do with it.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:44 PM ^
I'm not sure if low expectations would be a good thing. It's clear that RR needs a strong DC to succeed, but if UA doesn't expect much from its football program, will it be willing to pay market value for a good DC?
November 21st, 2011 at 5:29 PM ^
Offensive Desert Swarm to come?
November 21st, 2011 at 5:30 PM ^
I think he's got to be more concerned about Defensive Desert Shield at this point.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:29 PM ^
I hope these reports are false.
or
I hope he brings Greg.