Arizona football: Safeties coach Matt Caponi leaving UA program, headed to West Virginia

Make it a clean sweep.

Arizona Wildcats safeties coach Matt Caponi is leaving the program “to pursue another coaching opportunity,” the UA announced Tuesday afternoon.

Caponi’s departure means Arizona will have an entirely new defensive coaching staff next season.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez already had parted ways with defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jeff Casteel, defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich and cornerbacks coach David Lockwood. Only one new coach is in place: Jahmile Addae, whose current role is to coach the cornerbacks. Rodriguez is at the American Football Coaches Association Conference in San Antonio and is in the process of interviewing candidates and filling out the staff.

Caponi just completed his third season as Arizona’s safeties coach. He spent the year before that as a graduate assistant.

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Wildcat Authority and FootballScoop.com reported that Caponi is headed to West Virginia. The Mountaineers’ defensive coordinator/linebackers coach is Tony Gibson, who preceded Caponi as the UA’s safeties coach.

UPDATE: Caponi tweeted that he is indeed joining the staff at West Virginia:

pic.twitter.com/7iZmmUlorM

— Matthew Caponi (@coach_horsepwr) January 12, 2016

We’ll have more on this developing story later today and in Wednesday’s print edition of the Star.