Arizona, TCU face off for the first time since John Mackovic's firing

The last time Arizona and TCU faced each other, the Wildcats fired their head coach.

After throwing three interceptions and missing a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter, Arizona fell to No. 19 TCU 13-10 in overtime in Tucson, then dismissed head coach John Mackovic a day later following a tumultuous tenure.

Mackovic was fired five games into his third season as the successor to Dick Tomey, the winningest head coach in UA history, and posted a 10-18 record. In the three games leading up to the TCU loss, the Wildcats were outscored 166-30, which included a 59-13 home defeat to LSU and a 59-7 loss at Purdue. 

Over two decades later, the Wildcats and Horned Frogs meet as Big 12 opponents on Saturday in Fort Worth.  

Former Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood, who fired Mackovic, recently joined ESPN Tucson's "Spears and Ali" to discuss those dark times for UA football in ’03 and Brent Brennan's rocky first season leading the program, among other topics. Here's what he said:

What do you remember about TCU week in 2003 and the dismissal of Mackovic?

A: "Remember, I'm an older young man, so that seems like 100 years ago even though it was only 21 years ago. It was a tough week. A lot of things happened that got to a boiling point in regards to John and what we were going through with our players and so on. That decision wasn't made lightly, but it was made in the best interest of Arizona football and, quite candidly, the best interest of our players. It wasn't one of those things where we woke up one morning, called our president and said, 'Hey, we need to make a change.' That was something we thought about for a while and took a look at. When things don't work out, it gets ugly. When they do work out, everyone has room for the back-slapping." 

When you fire a head coach, especially in this case with UA football, do you ever consider the timing of the season and how it could impact the program?

A: "That's a great question. I'm not an advocate for — never have been and never will be — terminating coaches midseason. There's too much of a disruption on certain things. That's the last thing in the world, but that was my first rodeo. I have been through some coaching changes, but never anything in terms of midseason. Again, I'm not an advocate of that. I know there are reasons and times where that's the only choice to make that decision, whether it's in Week 3, Week 6 and so on. That was a different time. This is a time where you have a lot more things in play with regards to the (transfer) portal, NIL, a whole bunch of things. That just seemed like a long time ago."

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What were the factors that made you fire Mackovic after the TCU game?

A: "The biggest factor was with our players, how they were treated, how they reacted, all of those things. That was the biggest thing: what effect was it having on our football team and players? Not just in that year, but in terms of going forward. Recruiting is all day, every day; it's 24-7. You're thinking about how (the firing) would affect next year. There wasn't one thing or two things, but one thing I could single out, how would our players be affected by this? And would it be better for our players if we made a change?

Current TCU head coach Sonny Dykes was Arizona's offensive coordinator under Mackovic's replacement, Mike Stoops, from 2007-09. What do you remember about Dykes' tenure with the Wildcats and his coaching journey?

A: "I've been a Sonny Dykes fan for a long time. Remember, we had his brother, Rick, on (Mackovic's) staff. ... Sonny Dykes is an outstanding football coach. He's an outstanding individual. It's a credit to college football and college athletics." 

What are your thoughts and opinions about Arizona's first season under head coach Brent Brennan?

A: "I'm a huge — not big — huge Brent Brennan fan. I think he's a really good football coach. I think he's a good person — and the right person for right now. We can talk about injuries, bad breaks, a whole bunch of different things. There have been times where we haven't played great football, but you have to think about the meshing of when Jedd (Fisch) left and when Brent came in. I say as a Wildcat fan, but I also say as an administrator, it's extremely easy for me to be a Brent fan. He believes in all of the right things. I don't think this is a question of whether we're going to get things turned around and get going in a better direction; I think it's when, not if."

Like you, current Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois also held the same role at UNLV. Have you had the chance to get to know her?

A: "She's a good AD. I've known her for a long time. I knew her before the UNLV days, because she came from Virginia Tech and worked as an associate AD. But she also worked with one of my best friends, who is also retired from college athletics, and he was the AD at Tennessee. I've known her a long time. ... She's doing a good job. She's got a really tough job at a time where not only are there all kinds of expectations placed on you from a program success standpoint, but the financial thing. ... They change every day in terms of what's going to happen new in terms of finances. It's a tough job. If you've got 20 or 25% of the people each day that think you did a fairly good job, you had a heck of a day."