The Stoops Era

Mike Stoops was fired last night after 8 seasons, 3 consecutive bowl games (1-2), and 10 straight losses to FBS opponents. Wildcat fans, owe a debt of gratitude to Stoops for resurrecting our football program and bringing in the best quarterback in the program's history. Despite these accomplishments, it has been clear for some time that Stoops would never take the program to its first Rose Bowl. The losing streak only confirmed what Wildcat fans had long suspected. If Arizona AD Greg Byrne wants UofA to be a legitimate football power he had to fire Stoops in dramatic fashion. This decision signals to the rest of the country that while we appreciate Stoops efforts we will not accept mediocrity.

Stoops was the definition of mediocre, he had a knack for teasing the fan base with stunning upset victories and then deflating the balloon with no-show performances and middle of the pack finishes. Before the Oregon State game Bob Young of the Arizona Republic, argued that it was too soon to fire Stoops, citing the schedule and injuries on UofA's defense as evidence. This has been the common refrain for those that have defended Stoops but it doesn't make any real sense if you actually think about it. Stoops lost to Stanford, Oregon, USC, Oklahoma State, and Oregon State in back-to-back seasons and somehow this is proof that he should be given a break? If anything this is evidence that he deserved the axe. A good coach would learn something from the first defeat and strategize to overcome at least one of these teams or even a few of these teams, if anything we should at least be more competitive against these powerhouses (we have not even covered the spread in our 5 straight losses). Instead we were worse and Stoops much maligned game day decisions are clearly to blame for this failure. His inability to abandon the momentum destroying kicking game combined with his tragic clock management (why are you punting the ball to USC down 7 with 5 minutes to go? Who cares if it is 4th and forever, your defense has shown that you will not get the ball back) made it obvious, he was not good enough to compete with the best in the country.

The other excuse provided Stoops was the injuries suffered by Adam Hall, Jake Fischer, Juron Criner, Greg Nwoko and others. Injuries happen to ever team and coaches are supposed to find a way to play through them. One of the ways they do this is by recruiting depth. I have often said that Stoops was a terrible game day coach but at least he was able to attract 5-star talent. If Stoops was such a great recruiter wouldn't he be able to identify and bring in adequate backup players, especially on defense which is supposed to be his specialty. It seems I was wrong, apparently landing superstars like Foles and Criner means compromising depth.

These failings made it clear that it was time for the Cats to move on but where do they go from here. How will they deliver on Byrne's promise of building UofA into a top tier program? It has already been suggested that the Cats will have to open their pocket books to pay for more expensive coaches (both head and assistants) something that will be difficult given the Arizona budget issues. Some of the names that are being tossed around are intriguing Petersen (Boise St), Belotti (formerly Oregon), Mullen (Mississippi State), Leach (formerly Texas Tech), and Ricky Hunley (former Wildcat) but I am not sure UofA is an attractive enough destination for these coaches. Stoops was our chance to get a coach that would grow with our program. He grew it as far as he could and now we need someone to take it to the next level, does that mean an established coach or another up-and-coming coordinator? The decision will be a crucial one for the future of UofA athletics as the college football landscape shifts and Arizona faces a potential division made up of powerhouses like USC, Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. I sure wish Coach Eric Taylor was a real option because the Cats could use a "clear eyes full hearts" moment right about now.