I definitely did not see that coming.
Arizona’s divorce with Mike Stoops, that is.
I know I work for ASU’s newspaper, so I’m not around UA’s team all the time. But Stoops had been around for several rough seasons, and the Wildcats had always stuck with their man.
I also realize that Stoops was never the most tactful coach. There’s a Wall Street Journal blog post that analyzes his sideline behavior, and concluded that during last year’s loss to Stanford, Stoops was complaining for 51.4 percent of the time the camera was on him. And the majority of that time (63.2 percent, to be exact,) he was yelling at his own team.
Regardless, there were some good players that went through UA. Look at the Gronkowskis, or the way Willie Tuitama used to tear apart defenses. Stoops’ teams always had potential.
At the same time, last year’s loss to ASU stung, and after three straight bowl seasons, a 1-5 start really isn’t acceptable. I guess I was just distracted by the pressure Erickson was under, and never really gave thought to his counterpart down south.
How the tables have turned.
So the hunt for a new coach in Tucson begins.
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