So I’m just going to get straight to the point. Mike Stoops has been fired and it’s definitely brought out a variety of reactions. Some people agree and some people disagree but let’s face it, a lot has happened in the eight years Stoops has been coaching here. When he first arrived in 2003 Arizona football was an absolute joke. We were a two win team and our football program was about as irrelevant as Rob Kardashian is to the rest of his family. Sure we were there but no one knew or cared.
Then Mike Stoops came along and after a few building years took us to three straight consecutive post season appearances between the years of 2008 and 2010. In his Arizona coaching career prime Stoops was the head coach of a number nine ranked Arizona football team after a shocking win against Iowa. Because of Stoops Arizona football was finally recognizable. That didn’t last long though. Half way through the 2010 season with a record of 7-1 the cats proceeded to lose their last five consecutive games. It’s almost as if we tried to look bad.
Needless to say after our embarrassing end of season performance this season didn’t exactly start out in an ideal fashion. As of right now we’ve racked up eight consecutive conference losses and ten consecutive FBS losses. You don’t exactly have to be a football analyst to realize that’s not the best. University of Arizona Athletic Director Greg Byrne decided it was time to make moves and announced Monday that Mike Stoops’s time was up.
Some people don’t see the point in firing the poor guy half way through a season that is already considered over. Since there will be no bowl game in the near future for us some feel Stoops should just finish the season out because most college programs wait until the end of the season to let coaches go. Although many people will say this Stoops sacking was inevitable the change caused a murmur of anxiety in the collegiate coaching world. Could a combination of a young team and rocky season be enough to get a coach fired? In my opinion there’s no reason for college coaches to be nervous. Stoops had one of the best college quarterbacks in the nation and still couldn’t pull out a conference win against the winless Oregon State. With no light at the end of the tunnel it was time for Stoops to go.
Stoops also had two years still left on his contract but took a buyout of 1.4 million dollars. (For that type of money I would gladly be fired.) Byrne makes his case though that by relieving Stoops of his duties now, the program can proceed to take a much needed different direction. Also, with Stoops and his very generous severance out of the picture the Athletic director can start looking for a new coach to fill his shoes. Until then, Arizona defensive coordinator, Tim Kish, will be acting head coach.
So who’s going to be University of Arizona’s 29th head coach? The rumors are flying but Byrne claims to be waiting until the end of the season to announce his final decision. Until than he and his search committee are on the prowl. A few names being thrown around according to ESPN blogger, Ted Miller, include former Texas Tech coach, Mike Leach and former Oregon coach Mike Bellotti. Also being considered is Boise St. coach Chris Peterson. Peterson and his broncos have had a successful season and although Arizona may be an entry point to higher level competition, Peterson has been known to turn down better schools and deals. It’s too soon to tell but one thing is for sure, thanks to a lucrative television deal between the Pac-12, ESPN, and Fox Arizona will have plenty of money to spend on a new coach. The deal is supposed to quadruple revenues for each conference team and hiring a new coach is one of those situations where you have to spend money to make money.
As for Stoops its unsure whats next in the cards for him but he left with dignity. In a statement released to the press Stoops said “I wish the entire Wildcat football program the best of luck going forward, and I thank the University of Arizona for the opportunity to be a part of the successes we have achieved over the past eight seasons.” Current and former Arizona players responded to the dismissal of the 49-year-old coach on Twitter. Junior wide receiver Dan Buckner tweets “If u wanna kno how I feel I’m in shock didn’t know it was gonna happen like this but stoops doesn’t play we do so we have to fix things.”
Stoops will be missed by some but he may find his way back to his former coaching job at University of Oklahoma. Head coach and Mike Stoops’s older brother brother, Bob Stoops has set the bar way high. With a nickname like “Big Game Bob” his reputation precedes him. Currently he holds the nation’s longest home winning streak with 37 consecutive games. For the 2011 season he is undefeated and ranked 3 in the country. Apparently it doesn’t exactly run in the family. At least Stoops always has the option of going back to being a defensive coordinator and riding the coat tails of his older brother, Big Game Bob.
We’re appreciative of Mike’s dedicated work for the Arizona Wildcats,” Byrne said. “Coach Stoops had many successes as our head coach over the last eight seasons. It was a difficult decision but I feel now is the time for new leadership and direction.” It’s the beginning of a new era wildcats. Though our old coach tried his best let’s hope the new coach knows how to bear down.