It's been made official. Mike Stoops has been fired at Arizona after the Mildcats Wildcats started the season off 1-5 (HT VABruin). After eight years in charge in the desert, and coming off a 7-6 season (which started 7-1), Mike Stoops, the brother of national title winning Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, is done.
This season has been dismal for the Wildcats and you have to credit Arizona AD Greg Byrne for being decisive and making the decision now to get a head start on the coaching search that will inevitably play out as part of the coaching carousel following this year's season. For now, the Wildcats will be led by defensive coordinator Tim Kish as the interim head coach.
The Wildcats will a week-and-a-half to adjust to life in the post-Stoops era, as they have this weekend off, taking on our Bruins next Thursday.
Make no mistake: Arizona has some talented players and a very solid senior QB in Nick Foles. That said, their program is reeling and now without a true head coach. They've struggled against very pedestrian competition (as have we), but with the talent on this roster, and in light of our reasonable expectations for Neuheisel in his fourth year in charge, this is a golden opportunity for Rick to win on the road, on Thursday night, in front of a national audience to, something he has yet to accomplish during his tenure in Westwood.
But, Stoops' firing is also a prime example of what accountability looks like, and what it will look like for Rick if he fails to meet those expectations for this 2011 season.
GO BRUINS