This week didn’t feel much like a bye week, as the Arizona Wildcats football team was grinding harder than ever as it prepares to face the sixth-best team in the country. Between recruiting, meetings and practices, it was a miracle we were able to grab Chuck on Friday to take him out for his 55th birthday dinner. That’s right, folks: Chuck Cecil is double-nickels. It’s one of those aha moments when you realize that life is zipping by and how important it is to embrace the best of it.
There is a lot of chatter about what Chuck’s career status will be after these last three regular season games. Will he be here? Will he be let go? The truth is we don’t know. Coach Kevin Sumlin said it best this week, “Chuck is our guy right now,” and that’s what is important. Arizona football’s 1-0 mentality is actually a fitting motto for us all. Be it another game or another day, there’s no promise we get “one more” in this life. Enjoy the opportunities when they come, be grateful for each day and stay positive in the process. Chuck said it best: “Be it one day or 10,000, you have to wake up and say, ‘How can I make an impact today?’ One day and one person at a time, make an impact.”
The axes are falling on coaches
I reached out to several of my Power 5 conference athletic director clients this week to discuss what makes them sweep a coach out. There were three common answers. One: It’s a results-based business. If the head coach didn’t get it done on the field, he’s out. Two: If the head coach has behavioral or off-field problems, he’s out. Three: If the head coach isn’t a cultural fit, he’s out. The third had two subcategories: They defined culture by how the head coach fit with the program, and if the head coach was creating a culture of leadership. Are they leading internally? If not … he’s out.
College football is becoming an instant gratification profession. Both Arkansas and Florida State fired their coaches during their second season on the job based solely on performance on the field.
Firing a coach after two years for wins and losses would have been unthinkable 10 years ago. Off-field issues will get coaches fired in two years. USC fired Steve Sarkisian for alcohol issues that bled into the office. (He has since rebounded and is crushing it as Alabama’s offensive coordinator).
Alabama fired Mike Price for whooping it up at a topless bar, and Notre Dame canned George O’Leary after he admitted to lying about his athletic and academic backgrounds.
One Power 5 athletic director told me that culture has become a major needle to measure a coach’s success.
“How is his leadership in the building?” Another said, “We’re a school where our fans can sniff out someone who doesn’t care. Who doesn’t walk, talk, live and breathe 100 years of our cemented SEC culture. They come in and try to recreate the wheel, but all our fans want is someone to put our trusted brand back on the winning track. That’s why our guy here fits.”
I’m not throwing stones at Arkansas or FSU — their last few games were horrendous. But culture and off-field issues aside, firing coaches after two years for wins and losses may be detrimental to rebuilding a program. We want immediate gratification, but it’s not possible when that may mean building new buildings, recruiting new players and building a positive culture in the building.
Just a little food for thought: Virginia Tech legend Frank Beamer did not win more than six games until his seventh season. While at Michigan State, Nick Saban didn’t win more than six games until his fifth season. Bill Snyder was 6-22 before his wins began to click in for him; he went on to be KSU’s all-time wins leader. Barring unforeseen circumstances and outside forces, great coaches need time, faith and a steady hand on wheel to help right the ship.
Arizona cares what you think
It’s no secret that across the country there is a decline in attendance at college football games. The demographics of ticket buyers are changing as competition for the attention and time of fans on Saturdays increase. Great athletic programs are committed to learning from their fans how to improve and enhance the game-day experience.
That’s why I was happy to see Arizona has begun to assess and plan for potential renovations at Arizona Stadium. The first step: an online survey asking fans for input.
Athletic director Dave Heeke does a solid job in the trenches working with the fans to better understand how to improve our game-day experience. It’s a question that is plaguing ADs across the nation. We will see what the department and outside whizzes decipher and how they implement the findings.
Changes to Arizona Stadium would not only help with the fan experience but also would play a significant role in recruiting. Want to take the survey? You can request it here: tucne.ws/1cu4
Out and about in Tucson
A lawyer, a rabbi and a blonde walk into a bar …
Sounds like the opening to a great joke, right? Instead, it was a fantastic night with the Tucson Investment Club.
Club president Bobby Present invited me to speak to their A-list members Monday night. There were private investors, real estate developers, doctors, political party leaders, lawyers, business owners, and more. The club brings together some of Tucson’s most fascinating characters and biggest Arizona Wildcats supporters … although there was one Sun Devil sitting next to me.
Later that evening, an attendee texted me that he thought my off-the-record keynote speech killed it. I am not sure if he was serious — or if he said it because a guy in the audience almost died mid-speech. Lo and behold, Rabbi Thomas A. Louchheim saved him. Sorry, Rabbi.
A great weekend for supporting Arizona
Arizona fans were out in force this weekend, and our teams did not disappoint. Adia Barnes led the women’s basketball team to a victory over Santa Clara in front of a rocking crowd of 4,225 fans.
The winning didn’t stop there: Arizona’s soccer program took down Arizona State (insert Chuck smiling) in front of the largest crowd (1,365) in program history. And on Sunday, Sean Miller and his men’s basketball team laid the smackdown on Illinois. McKale Center was electric as the crowd of 13,780 cheered the team to a 2-0 start.
How good was the win over the Illini? Freshman Zeke Nnaji earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Monday.
As always, thanks for reading. Have a question or idea? Email me at info@anachel.com or follow me on Twitter @carriegcecil
