Forgive Dick Tomey if heβs feeling a bit conflicted this weekend.
Tomey is the winningest coach in the history of Arizona football, the overseer of the βDesert Swarmβ defense and the two best seasons in program history.
Before coming to Tucson, Tomey coached at Hawaii. When he left Honolulu, he was the winningest coach in that programβs history. (June Jones subsequently surpassed him.)
Additionally, Tomeyβs son-in-law is a Rainbow Warriors assistant coach.
So emotions will be running high for Tomey and his family Saturday night at Arizona Stadium. The ex-coach, 78, recently moved from Honolulu to Tucson with his wife, Nanci. They have four children and eight grandchildren. Tomey is doing some consulting work and public speaking but mostly enjoying life in semi-retirement.
βGreat coach, even better person,β current UA coach Rich Rodriguez said. βIβm happy to have him back in town.β
No one is better qualified to talk all things Arizona and Hawaii football than Tomey, and the Star did just that this week. After a morning workout, Tomey sat down for an interview in the lobby at the Westin La Paloma Resort. Here are some of the highlights of that conversation, including whom Tomey will be rooting for Saturday:
What sort of feelings does this game conjure up for you?
A: βI have deep feelings for Hawaii. My experience there was the first head-coaching experience I had. It was a transformative experience. The place to me has seemed like home. It just has. Itβs a special place. I had an incredible experience there.
βMy connection with Arizona is really profound in terms of the experience I had here, the βalohaβ we have for Tucson, the people here. But when it comes down to it, I just have too much feeling for Hawaii. Itβs family. Itβs deeper than all of that.
βThis is an interesting week, but itβs really not complicated. Hawaiiβs struggling so much. The win would mean so much to them. In the end Iβd love to see Hawaii win, but I know how much of a long shot that is.β
The Hawaii program is down. There are certain inherent challenges in coaching there. What are the biggest ones, and how were you able to have success there?
A: βThe thing that struck me so much when I got there was exactly what you said β the fact that everybody knew what all the negatives were. Everybody would just recite a list as long as your arm of all the reasons you couldnβt do a good job, why you couldnβt win, why you couldnβt have a program that youβd be proud of. So I just decided, I donβt want to hear any of that. I donβt care what it is. All I want to concern ourselves with is how weβre going to succeed, not why we canβt.
βI always thought it was more of a cause there than a job. Itβs just a little speck in the ocean. Itβs a cause that this place can become respected and a good program in major college football. We were working hard to try to make that happen.β
Given the connection you felt at Hawaii, how hard was it to leave when the Arizona opportunity arose?
A: βIt was really hard. When I accepted the job here and went back to tell our team, I remember calling Ced Dempsey, the athletic director (at Arizona). I remember telling him, βCed, Iβm having trouble with this. I get back here and look at these guys and realize what theyβve done, what they all mean to me, how much gratitude I feel. I donβt know if I can do this. As much as I should. As much as it makes all the sense in the world and itβs a great next step.β
βI remember calling Ray Nagel (the former AD at Hawaii) and saying, βRay, help me here.β He said, βIf you donβt take that job, Iβll never speak to you again. Those opportunities donβt just come along.β And he was right. And I was so lucky to have come to Arizona. It was a magical time here. A lot of wonderful things happened. We ended up in the national conversation and the nation rankings quite often.β
What kind of state was the program in when you got here?
A: βLarry Smith was the coach. The program was well-run. It was hard to get our players to buy in because we werenβt going to do things just like Larry did. But β and I know exactly when it happened β we finally got the guys to buy in with four games left our first year.β
How could you tell?
A: βI just knew it. We had played terribly at Washington State (a 45-28 loss). I just raised hell with them after the game. I challenged them. I told them weβre going to get back, and weβre going to practice the next morning at 6 oβclock. Sunday morning. Full gear. Anybody misses, theyβre gone. We were going to practice. Because we just were.
βIt was completely different. The guys came to practice Sunday morning, and they were ready to go. I found that to be at times an emergency problem-solver. But it was appropriate here because the guys had one foot in, one foot out.β
Desert Swarm was one of the best defenses of all time. Arizona is trying to get back to that. How do you put together a great defense without a bunch of four- and five-star recruits?
A: βWe had guys that were under the radar. I just felt like the most important thing was to find guys that we wanted, that had a great motor and a great desire to play. You didnβt have to spend your time being concerned about motivating them. They loved to play. They played with a passion that was extreme. It was wonderful to watch.
βWe had a lot of guys that were unselfish. They fit together. And they werenβt entitled. They werenβt recruited by the world. They fit together into a system that was really successful for us.
βPeople said we werenβt very good on offense. We had some good offensive teams, but there was no question about playing great defense, great special teams, win the turnover battle, win the kicking game, win the fourth quarter. Those were the things we hung our hat on.β
What are your initial impressions of this yearβs Wildcats?
A: βRichRod and I talked a lot about the BYU game. That was a tough opener. But I think they will be better having opened against BYU and suffering a loss than they would be had they faced a lesser team and won by 40 points. They learned more about themselves. And I thought they showed a lot of character last week (in rallying to beat Grambling State). The defense took the ball away, which is what youβve got to do.
βThe public wants you to be great immediately. But I think thereβs good signs. I think Rich has done a tremendous job here.β