RichRod's makeover is Act II
Arizona will open the 2016 football season with an entirely new defensive coaching staff. Starting over isn’t unprecedented at Arizona.
After Dick Tomey struggled in 1991, finishing 4-7. With his job at stake, he, too, made dramatic changes. He made over his entire offensive coaching staff.
After the ’91 season, UA quarterbacks coach Gerald Carr went to North Carolina. Offensive coordinator Pat Hill went to the Cleveland Browns. Receivers coach Mike Flores became recruiting coordinator. Special teams/tight end coach John Baxter went to Maryland.
So Tomey started over with what had been an offense-challenged program.
He hired retired Army coach Jim Young and ex-Wildcat lineman and NAU coach Charlie Dickey to coach the offensive line. He hired Iowa State’s Norm Anderson to coach receivers.
More boldly, Tomey made secondary coach Duane Akina the UA’s offensive coordinator. He replaced Akina with Rich Ellerson, who had been Hawaii’s defensive coordinator. Ellerson was outstanding.
How did it go?
The next three seasons were the Desert Swarm years at Arizona, with each team, 1992, 1993 and 1994, spending time ranked in the top 10.
In retrospect, those coaching changes 24 years ago were a thing of football genius. Now it’s up to RichRod to show it can be done again.
