Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke, appearing on AM 1290 on Tuesday, said he is looking for a passionate, fiery program builder and leader who has the “highest level of integrity” to become the Wildcats’ next football coach.
Heeke made his first media appearance, on the UA’s flagship radio station, since firing Coach Kevin Sumlin on Saturday. In the 20-minute-plus interview, Heeke explained why he moved on from Sumlin – beyond his 9-20 record – how that decision was communicated to the staff and team, and what his vision is for the program under new leadership.
“We need a builder,” Heeke told host Rich Herrera. “We need a program builder. We need a leader. We need someone who has unbelievable passion and a fire inside their gut, inside their belly – for football, for this job, for this place, for U of A, this city and this state.”
Below is a transcript of the bulk of that interview.
On the decision to fire Sumlin:
“Obviously, I'm always evaluating the program. It was certainly, after two years, a critical year this year to begin to see progress. It got to a point where I just didn't feel like the program was headed in a direction that I really felt confident about. And I didn't feel that that could change significantly. ...
“These are difficult decisions, because it impacts lives, real people. I understand the business side of it. I understand the performance side of it. The reality of what we're in this for is to be on the right side of the scoreboard more often than not. But there is a human side to it, and it's always difficult when you have to walk in and sit across from someone and say that it ended. But I felt that was what we needed to do. We couldn't wait any longer. And we needed a change in our leadership so we could begin to move forward.”
On whether the decision was based on an accumulation of factors or a direct result of Friday’s 70-7 loss to Arizona State:
“Well, anytime that you make that decision, it's a culmination of a lot of different factors. It's looking at the entire totality of the program. Certainly, Friday night was incredibly disappointing to all of us. Rivalry games are really important. Getting out there and competing is really important. I don't like to lose to anyone. I'm a very competitive person, and I think our program should have that kind of backbone and that substance to it. It was unfortunate what happened on Friday night, but that was not the only thing; that was not the one thing.
“That was an incredibly disappointing night in the history of this program. But it is what it is, we need to move on from that and just move in a different direction. There are pieces of the program that I think are still relatively in good shape. This is not completely lost in any way. We have so much ... that is positive, that this program offers, and we think we can be very successful. I know we can be successful when we get the right person here.”
On Sumlin’s reaction to the news:
“I talked to Kevin about 1 o'clock on Saturday. We had a face-to-face conversation about it. Again, those aren't easy conversations; I don't think I'm going to go into the details of it. But it was a very professional conversation. And I respect the way it was handled. Those things cascade. We talked about how it impacts a lot of people.
“Went from there to talk to our assistant coaches and the rest of our extended operational staff around our football program. ... Again, when you look at those people and how it impacts them, that's challenging and difficult. We're all in this; we all understand how it works. But it doesn’t matter. When it happens to you and it happens that day, it's very tough.
“Then we went right from there to talk to the football team together. These were all face to face; we did it inside of the Davis Center, socially distanced. ... Hard decisions, but very professional, by everyone, including our players. And I appreciate that and respect them.”
On what Heeke is looking for from the football program and new coach:
“I believe our football program can be positioned to be highly competitive in the Pac-12 Conference. It can be developed into a winning program, one that can compete for championships, can compete for bowl games each year, would be in the mix. We want to be a really tough game on schedules. We want to build a winning football program here, consistently winning football program, and build it the right way. That takes time. It takes really critical though and really clear decision-making, strategic decision-making of where we want to go. ...
“I don't think there's an easy answer – ‘Hey, here it is, A-B-C.’ But we've got great facilities. The Lowell-Stevens Facility. The enhancements that we've done in the football stadium, and we'll continue to do that. We have a tremendous venue for young men to compete in. The Davis Center, the indoor practice facility that is right there adjacent to our outdoor facility, is as good as anything in the country.
“We've made great strides through the years here, and so there are a lot of assets in this program that can allow us to be very successful, that will aid the next group and the next head coach as they come in to build this. We need a builder. We need a program builder. We need a leader. We need someone who has unbelievable passion and a fire inside their gut, inside their belly – for football, for this job, for this place, for U of A, this city and this state.
“There's a little toughness, a little bit of blue-collar attitude to it. But a real program builder that can put all those pieces together. Because this isn't just about who can call plays. It isn't about one aspect. A head football coach has to be able to look at, very broadly, all of the things that go on in a football program – recruiting, game-planning, developing your staff, your relationships with your players, your academic program, your character-building program, the overall plan, the grand plan of recruiting, roster management; that's a whole different aspect that wasn't here 10, 15 years ago. ...
“I want someone who has great respect for this place, the tradition here. We have really good tradition. We need to build it around the bones of what U of A football is all about. And that's a lot of our history and our tradition and kind of understanding who we are. ...
“I think we can be very successful. Those are some of the things that I think are important as we embark on this going forward with the right person, who can put the right staff together, who can capitalize on the assets we have, build the right kind of roster that can be really competitive in this league – and that ultimate goal, to get to the Rose Bowl.
On the importance of having a connection with the community and alumni:
“We also need someone of the highest level of integrity who cares deeply about the players in the program. You have to have meaningful, strong relationships with your players – not only the head coach, but the assistant coaches. These are just things that you have to have. I'm not saying we were completely out of touch with this, don't get me wrong. But these are all the pieces you've got to fill. There is no quick, ‘Hey, (I) love that guy because he was the best at this.’ They need to be the best at a lot of things, and it is a very comprehensive, long list of things that they have to have a skill set. A skill set of high scoring, calling great plays, that's an interesting piece to it. But if they don't have the other 24 pieces to it, it might not work. ...
“We want someone who cares deeply about this place and will engage in the community, both through our local media outlets but (also) with our fans, with our fan base, with the people in Tucson, with the people in the state of Arizona.
“And I always say this: This program is our letter-winners, our lettermen, our former players’ program. That's who own this program, is our players. Our job as administrators, and quite frankly as coaches, is to be caretakers, to be stewards of them, to help and grow, to help build the program, to help other players feel so passionately about Arizona. That's what it's about. You’ve gotta get people that have that kind of mentality. That’s really what drives them, maybe more than some other things.
“This is a great job. It can be a great job for someone. And we’re going to find the right person.”
On the idea of being a program builder:
“I have to be careful, because I think we all overuse the word culture. It's an easy word to use. But it means a lot of different things. It means that you’ve got strength, you’ve got a really strong program, and you need someone who can build that. Those are a lot of pieces that build culture. ...
“Having good culture is about recruiting the right players, holding them accountable, having discipline, expecting more out of them, having an appreciation for being here and wearing the uniform, wearing the block A on your helmet, being part of something bigger. All of that is how you build culture. Culture isn't like, ‘Hey, we’ve got a good culture.’ That takes leaders and people who get in front of your football program, head coaches and assistant coaches on the same page, talking about the same things, holding people accountable to the same levels. That's how culture gets built, that's how programs get built that becomes strong and can overcome some of those adversities, those tough losses, a little bit of a tough time. But you always have that north star or that beacon that you're looking at all the time, that you're forcing yourself to go towards, because that's where we want to get to. If we stay on that, if we stay focused on that, then we get closer and closer, kind of striving toward that excellence. You may not always get there, but boy, you're gonna be pretty good if you can strive and get close enough to it.
“We didn't want to be in this position; that wasn't the plan. We've got to just pull up our bootstraps. We're going to fix it, and we're going to get better.”
