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Mike Stoops fired? - washingtonismoney - 10-10-2011

Per many (reliable, e.g. Bruce Feldman) on Twitter.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - terry - 10-10-2011

Confirmed by Ted Miller at ESPN.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7086070/arizona-wildcats-fire-mike-stoops-coach-1-5-start

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - washingtonismoney - 10-10-2011

IIRC one of the reasons cited for Florida's getting Urban Meyer was that they fired the Zookster early. That gave them time to figure out their list, tamper with their favored candidates reach out through the backchannels, and get their guy. South Bend waited until the end of the season to get rid of His Royal Ungratefulness and got stuck with Weis. Interesting to ponder how college football history would've been different had South Bend been quick on the draw.

Obviously 'Zona isn't fishing in the same waters, but maybe it helps them steal a march on UCLA, BC and Ole Miss (to pick three semi-random examples).

I imagine Stoops will land on his feet as a well-compensated DC at the very least.

EDIT: It's even better if your favored target is out of a job at the moment. Right?:

http://goo.gl/bi4gG

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - JeffInCorvallis - 10-10-2011

No big Stoops fan, but it's a little hard to take.  They should not have lost on the road to Oregon State, but their other losses are to Okla State, Stanford, Oregon, and SC.  They've got some winnable games coming up.  Hard to believe they're better off with an interim coach in the middle of the season.  Unless they've got a bead on some other coach.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - Farm93 - 10-10-2011

An odd situation.  I suspect UofA is better than many of the opponents left on their schedule.  So some interim coach could end up finishing 4-2 or even 5-1.  5-1 would probably get them in a bowl game!

I guess the thinking was that if Stoops got the team to 5-7 it would be harder to fire him.  And this way UofA does get a jump on the others.

I have to think UCLA would have had a similar announcement if they did not beat Washington State on Saturday.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - unclechuck - 10-10-2011

I think washingtonismoney is spot on in concept but flawed in suggesting Leach. Good cover photo though.

I suspect AZ has seen enough drama and will look for some up and coming mid-major type; e.g the Harbaugh plan. I recall being thrilled with Bowlsby's fast trigger for Wlat that allowed us to get rolling with JH.

Perhaps unfair to Stoops given their difficult schedule (as per J in C) and the reasonable talent that they have on the team. Yep, they could go 5-1 down the homestretch, but that just seems to reinforce the idea that the AD was tired of the Stoops show and did not see major improvement in the future.

Given the strong foundation of the conference, the financial support of the pending media contract, and no hints of pending major infraction issues, AZ should be able to come up with some very strong candidates.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - FarmBoy - 10-10-2011

I won't miss him. And I think it more likely than not the next coach is even less successful than he is. UofA missed their window of opportunity in the Pac12 (USC on probation, ASU down, no Utah and Colorado fighting for SoCal recruits.) I predict UofA is in the bottom half of the South 7 out of the next 10 years.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - fullmetal - 10-10-2011

Leach is a good coach.  I would not like to see Stanford face him on a regular basis.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - washingtonismoney - 10-10-2011

(10-10-2011, 09:01 PM)unclechuck link Wrote:I think washingtonismoney is spot on in concept but flawed in suggesting Leach. Good cover photo though.

Well how about...this guy?

http://goo.gl/RgSI8

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - Hank 91 - 10-10-2011

If they've decided Stoops is not their guy, this is probably the perfect time. The tough games are behind them, so even if I were coaching them, they'd get better, at least according to the win-loss record. Fans like that, and so do recruits.

So they'll promote from within, and they'll have six weeks to evaluate the interim candidate. Maybe he looks great, everyone's impressed, and he wins the job. (See: Cowobys, Jason Garrett.) If he doesn't, they'll KNOW that they have to go out and get someone else.

The best news? Our coordinators are still too new to be attracting interest. Next year at this time that might not be the case.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - fullmetal - 10-11-2011

Fortuitous timing for the rest of the Pac-12: the new coach will not have Nick Foles throwing the ball, Juron Criner or Gino Crump catching the ball, or Keala Antolin running the ball.  Buckner has one more season of eligibility.  Arizona will need at least a year to rebuild even if the AD chooses a new coach wisely.

OTOH, Arizona's young OL will all return, as well as freshman RB Ka'Deem Carey and the maturing frosh WR Austin Hill.  I don't know what's going on with Arizona's defense, but if injury has played a large part in that unit's underperformance (so I've heard), then next year's defense will have to prove itself.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - oman - 10-11-2011

I can't think of anyone who looked more angry, hysterical and confused on the sideline that Stoops.  He was just a terrible representative of the school, whatever the win-loss was.

Leach would be scary great in the Pac12. 

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - terry - 10-11-2011

Stoops has lost 10 straight games against FBS opponents. Those 10 losses included 2 losses each to Oregon, Stanford, Oklahoma St., and SC, a 1-point loss to Arizona St., and a loss on the road to Oregon St. That's a pretty tough stretch of 10 games for anyone. . . .

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - Farm93 - 10-11-2011

I bet a lot of up and coming coaches will want to take the UofA job and coach that squad.  Most openings are for programs with few top players & even fewer resources.

I suspect some up and comer will see the light, and realize that 4 or 5 years at UofA might be the best fast track to the NFL or, ummm...., the SEC.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - washingtonismoney - 10-11-2011

A random spot on the internet (can't find it at the moment) ran down all of the typical hot coordinator names (your Manny Diazes, your Paul Chrysts, etc.) and added a very interesting name that surprised me at first but makes perfect sense now that I think of it: Greg Roman.

Given how the 49ers look--Alex Smith looks like a functional human being!--you'd have to imagine Roman's stock has gotten even higher. It's one impressive thing to use Andrew Luck to his fullest abilities. It's quite another to make Alex Smith look like a serviceable quarterback.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - unclechuck - 10-12-2011

Have noted and wondered on Alex Smith's striking improvement this year. IIRC, he had a similar jump in performance early in his career the one year that he had Norv Turner as his OC, regressing badly the next year.

Seems hard to tease out the major influence on Smith, be it Harbaugh or Roman or some elusive combination of the two. It would be interesting to get some insider's take on that. I'd guess that would happen this year if 49ers continue their improved performance.

I'd be a whole lot more trusting of Roman than Manny Diaz for a HC, but if I'm AZ I don't go with either. I'm in agreement with Farm93 that AZ should be able to get someone pretty good with HC experience but maybe not at an AQ school. AZ has a nice recruiting class of verbals right now, one good, experienced QB redshirting (Scott) and decent talent returning. If done right, they're a consistent bowl team over the next several years.

WIM - ESPN has repopulated and relaunched their NCAA "The Experts" program and I caught their first airing yesterday. Gone is such deadwood as Matt Millen and ex UCLA hack David Norrie, replaced by Mike Bellotti and Ivan Maisel; a significant upgrade in my opinion. The Stoops replacement issue was covered and both Belllotti and Maisel floated out RichRod and Leach as "good" candidates. Ex Buckeye Joey Galloway asked the direct question I would want: since both guys bombed out at their last jobs, why would you want to look at them?

The general response was an underwhelming "bad fit" for RR @ UM, saying he did fine with offense, but defense was the problem. Rich Rod went through 3 DCs without much luck; seems the head coach needs to take some responsibility for that. Specifics on Leach's quirky/arrogant personality were not followed up on. So, overall no ringing endorsements offered.

AZ AD Byrne seems to appreciate that his job/reputation may well be on the line with this hire. No rambling, discordant stakeholders committee to vet candidates for him. Old School, inner circle, we'll let you know when we've decided process. This should prove interesting.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - unclechuck - 10-12-2011

Yeah Garvin, it was interesting to watch his body language during that piece. He played it very straight, no coy smiles, eye rolling or Monty Python wink-wink, nudge-nudge stuff. None of the other panelists chose to dig any deeper by asking something like " so Mike, is this a plum job opportunity or will it be hard to win in AZ".

When he's interested in something Bellotti tends to be expansive and informative. His dry delivery here would incline me to believe that he may have more than broadcaster's interest.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - Ratmandoo - 10-12-2011

(10-12-2011, 08:15 AM)unclechuck link Wrote:Specifics on Leach's quirky/arrogant personality were not followed up on. So, overall no ringing endorsements offered.

I don't think anyone at ESPN is allowed to say anything nice about Mike Leach. Craig James may have them fired. Ask Bruce Feldman about that. How Craig James still has a job at ESPN is mind boggling.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - teejers1 - 10-12-2011

The Roman situation is interesting (or at least I find it so because I've met the guy a few times).

If you're Greg, you're now (finally) making really good money as an NFL OC.  The job security there is pretty darn good for a coaching position - Harbs ain't going anywhere in the next 5 years - and it may be great (i.e., 20 years).  Also, you're living in a pretty sweet part of the country comfortably.

But most coaches want to be head coaches (Roman wanted the Stanford job badly and was "this close" - he also was in the running for the Vandy job).  And AZ is a legit D1 program where his even greater pay would go further.  The downside is if you don't win you could be out in 3 years and it may be difficult to get another HC gig.  Thus, when you make the jump, you want to make sure you're in a great position to succeed.  AZ isn't ideal on that front; but it isn't bad, either.

I hoped (and still hope) that Roman sticks in S.F. for several years, so that if Shaw moves on (for whatever reason) then Stanford would be an easy logistical move for him, anyway.  I think Roman will be a good HC some day, and I hope it is not with a Stanford rival.

Re: Mike Stoops fired? - unclechuck - 10-12-2011

(10-12-2011, 10:34 AM)Ratmandoo link Wrote:[quote author=unclechuck link=topic=4627.msg32802#msg32802 date=1318432504]
Specifics on Leach's quirky/arrogant personality were not followed up on. So, overall no ringing endorsements offered.

I don't think anyone at ESPN is allowed to say anything nice about Mike Leach. Craig James may have them fired. Ask Bruce Feldman about that. How Craig James still has a job at ESPN is mind boggling.
[/quote]

Fair points and I'm with you on James. However, for me red flags went up on Leach a couple of years back with, IIRC, an SI feature article on him that went into his whole pirate shtick. Look, I'm more than OK with D1 AQ head coaches having a personal life and hobbies, but this seems like an activity more acceptable for a latchkey teenage boy than a Big12 head football coach. Not a hanging offense, but just something that was amiss.

It seems clear that Leach got railroaded by TT. The process and the James gang's behaviors were worthy of disdain, and I hope that Leach eventually gets his pound of flesh from them. However, enough came out about Leach's behavior (arrogant, bullying), either via TT or by his own actions that I would have pause placing my career in his hands.

I'd like to see Leach take a step back, work some magic at a FCS school while showing some character and not being one. A Lazarus like return at that point would be just fine with me. Just my two cents.