The Star's longtime columnist shares his thoughts on Arizona's new football staff, Bennedict Mathurin's recent explosion and why the AIA's decision to play a winter sports season could force athletes to make tough decisions.
Fisch’s UA staff comes with 55 years’ worth of NFL experience
Arizona’s football programs of the 1980s and ’90s produced so many NFL coaches it was difficult to keep an accurate count.
Pat Hill, Johnnie Lynn, Willie Peete, Clarence Brooks, Mike Barry, Larry Mac Duff, Bobby April, Clarence Shelmon, Richard Smith, Bob Palcic, Ted Williams, Brant Boyer, Keith Rowen, Rip Scherer, Ricky Hunley, Chuck Cecil, Jeff Hammerschmidt and on and on.
But it rarely worked both ways. Only five men with significant NFL experience accepted assistant coaching jobs at Arizona: Homer Smith, Greg Brown, Mike Canales, Jim Michalczik and Joe Gilbert.
Since Kevin Sumlin was fired, the UA has already matched that total, hiring five former NFL assistant coaches: Cecil, Hunley, head coach Jedd Fisch, offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll and defensive backs coach DeWayne Walker. Total years in the NFL: 55.
It is by far the most NFL experience in Pac-12 coaching.
Sending a former NFL coach into the living room of a coveted recruit is viewed as a difference-maker. An NFL résumé is recruiting gold, thus the trend for more NFL influence in college football.
Washington hired offensive coordinator John Donovan off the Jacksonville Jaguars’ staff. Cal hired offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, who has 20 years of NFL experience. UCLA defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro coached for the 49ers and Eagles.
ASU should be given credit for implementing the Pac-12’s NFL-type model, hiring former NFL head coach Herman Edwards, who added 27-year NFL coach Marvin Lewis and ex-Wildcat Antonio Pierce, an eight-year NFL linebacker who had never coached in college football. Pierce is now ASU’s defensive coordinator.
Asked last week about the composition of Arizona’s coaching staff, new UA receivers coach Kevin Cummings said “there are a lot of coaches who know what good football looks like.” Evaluation skills are more sophisticated.
The most compelling addition to Fisch’s staff is Carroll, son of Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. At this time last year, Brennan Carroll was a candidate to be the head coach at Hawaii.
Brennan Carroll
The younger Carroll had a modest college career, catching four passes at Pitt. He got his foot in the door on his father’s staffs at USC, but then got out of coaching altogether in 2010, pursuing a business career. When he decided he missed coaching, Carroll spent four years on the Miami Hurricanes staff, where he met Fisch.
A young Brennan Carroll learned from some impressive USC coaches such as Steve Sarkisian, Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron. He has spent the last six years with the Seahawks, rising from offensive scheme specialist to run-game coordinator and offensive line coach.
“I originally tried to talk Brennan out of coaching,” Pete Carroll told Seattle reporters, “but he had an enormous awareness that gave him a chance to do well at an early age. Once he committed to it, I was thrilled. He’s very competitive, he’s very blunt with me. He tells me what I need to know.”
Sending Brennan Carroll to recruit a four-star prospect should have an impact. He was on the scene when USC signed Reggie Bush and a string of NFL quarterbacks. He was part of five Seahawks playoff teams that produced 19 Pro Bowl players — big names like Russell Wilson, D.K. Metcalf, Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch, identifiable figures that 17-year-old recruits have grown up watching.
The upgrade of Arizona’s coaching staff should lead to an upgrade in its recruiting efforts, which have been near the bottom of the Pac-12 since Mike Stoops was fired a decade ago.
Byron Evans’ career was Hall of Fame-worthy
Byron Evans watches a play develop during the 1986 game against Washington State.
The College Football Hall of Fame last week announced an 11-man Class of 2021 that included ASU’s 1980s defensive back David Fulcher. It was a well-deserved honor for Fulcher, brother of Arizona’s 1980-81 quarterback Mark Fulcher.
Arizona recruited David Fulcher out of Los Angeles’ Fremont High School but mis-evaluated him. It told him he would be a tight end at Arizona. He opted for ASU’s offer to play defensive back and became a consensus All-American in 1984 and 1985.
But as good as Fulcher was, Arizona linebacker Byron Evans had a superior career. Evans was the Pac-10’s 1986 Pac-10 defensive player of the year. He made a school-record 196 tackles in 1986. Perspective: When UA linebacker Scooby Wright had a breakout, All-American season in 2014, he made 163 tackles and played two more games than Evans in 1986.
Evans was clearly a Hall of Fame-level college player but the first qualification for selection is to be a consensus All-American. Evans was a second-team Associated Press All-American in 1986.
It was a case of bad timing. The 1986 class of college linebackers might’ve been the best foursome in history. Oklahoma’s Brian Bosworth, Alabama’s Cornelius Bennett, Penn State’s Shane Conlan and Ohio State’s Chris Spielman were Evans’ contemporaries. I think Evans was just as good, but the brands of Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State and Oklahoma strongly influenced the All-American voting process.
TUSD making best of tough times for high school sports
High school basketball, soccer and wrestling will resume in Tucson this week, although schedules are fluid; some might not resume until February. When the games do resume, the only people allowed to observe will be the parents/guardians of each player on the home team.
But TUSD hopes to install video cameras at its schools to allow others to stream/watch from home. Installations of those cameras are scheduled to begin this week. Don’t expect ESPN-level clarity and close-ups, but it’s a positive development in an otherwise bumpy period for high school sports.
Vern Friedli makes another hall of fame
Head Coach Vern Friedl directs his team during practice at Amphi High School in September 2003.
Unknown to his family, the late Vern Friedli was inducted into the second class of the Arizona Football Coaches Hall of Fame last week in Scottsdale. It was folded into the Ed Doherty Awards by the Grand Canyon State Gridiron Club.
Friedli, who retired in 2012 after coaching Amphitheater High School to 288 victories, died two years ago. His wife, Sharon, their two children and eight adult grandchildren who live in the greater Phoenix area were not informed of Vern’s selection. Fortunately, Friedli was inducted into the Arizona High School Coaches Hall of Fame (1986) and the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame (1994), at which his family attended.
The new AFCHF has a long waiting list of deserving Tucson football coaches on a waiting list: Ollie Mayfield, Larry Hart, Rollin Gridley, Red Greer, Dennis Bene, Richard Sanchez and Ed Brown.
New UA running backs coach was well-respected at ASU
Scottie Graham
New Arizona running backs coach Scottie Graham spent the last six years as a senior associate athletic director at ASU, overseeing baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, track and field and the Sun Devils’ elite golf programs.
When Graham announced he was leaving ASU, All-American golfer Olivia Meheffey was among scores of Sun Devils who congratulated him via social media on his move to Tucson.
Graham’s career has been exemplary. After graduating from Ohio State he was drafted in the seventh round by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who soon released him. He went to work full-time at a pharmacy in Columbus, Ohio, while earning a master’s degree. When he got his second chance at the NFL, Graham turned it into a 20-year career as a player and NFLPA executive.
Among those who recommended Graham be hired by Jedd Fisch was Sabino High School grad Chris Foerster, now on the San Francisco 49ers’ staff. He worked with Graham during his internship under 49ers running backs coach Bobby Turner. Foerster has been in the NFL for 17 years.
Impressive freshman Bennedict Mathurin continues to open eyes
Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin (0) dunks during the first half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
As I watched UA freshman Bennedict Mathurin score 31 points last week against Oregon State, I was a) fully impressed, b) thinking he could be an all-conference player for the next few years and c) concerned he might jump to the NBA prematurely. Why? After the first month of the NBA season, Nico Mannon has played in one game. No points. Zeke Nnaji has played 11 minutes and scored two points. Josh Green has scored 11 points. You can claim that they could’ve developed better playing another season at Arizona, but Nnaji is guaranteed $2.4 million and Green $2.8 million, while Mannion is working on a two-way contract with the G League that pays $7,000 a week, minimum. Enjoy Mathurin’s UA days while you can.
Salpointe's Donovan Olumba back in the NFL
Cowboys cornerback Donovan Olumba (32) in action during the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Rams, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019.
Former Salpointe Catholic High School defensive back Donovan Olumba began his college career at Division II Alderson Broaddus in West Virginia before playing his senior year at Portland State. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys in 2019 and played in one game. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns last spring but released in September. But when the Browns’ secondary was depleted by injuries last week, Olumba was signed and has practiced with Cleveland leading up to Sunday’s playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
'On the ball' expands to two hours
Beginning Monday, sports-talk radio 1450-AM will expand its “Eye On The Ball” program to two hours, 3-5 p.m. In their first year together as co-hosts, Jay Gonzales and Steve Rivera have used their combined 75 years of experience covering Tucson sports to the advantage of their listeners. They are connected and know what is news and what isn’t. They are not a me-me-me program, but rather one that listens and asks pertinent questions. They are willing to ask the tough questions. Good show.
Ex-UA assistant Andy Buh lands at Illinois
Former UA assistant Andy Buh is now at Illinois.
Linebackers coach Andy Buh, who I thought was the top assistant coach in the Kevin Sumlin regime last season, didn’t take long to find a new job. Buh was hired to be the linebackers coach at Illinois. He is part of what UA coach Jedd Fisch last week referred to as the “professional movers” industry, which is college football coaching. Buh might be Exhibit A: in the last 20 years he has coached at Arizona, Cal, Stanford, Maryland, Rutgers, San Diego State, Fresno State, Nevada, Wisconsin and Kentucky. It’s not a profession for everyone, but the typical Power 5 linebackers coach is paid about $300,000 a year, plus moving expenses.
RichRod — and Rhett — head to Louisiana-Monroe
Rich Rodriguez, right, will watch his son Rhett, left, start at UCLA this week. The Rose Bowl once was home to a Bruins father-son combo.
Rich Rodriguez has been hired as the offensive coordinator at Louisiana-Monroe, which is coming off an 0-10 season. RichRod sat out last season, collecting a $1 million payoff after being fired as Ole Miss offensive coordinator. It’s not like his career trajectory is on a promising path. The three previous offensive coordinators at Louisiana-Monroe were hired from McNeese State, Stephen F. Austin and Illinois State. RichRod turns 58 in May. Odds that his son, former Catalina Foothills High School and Arizona QB Rhett Rodriguez, will be Monroe’s starting quarterback? Overwhelmingly strong.
My two cents: Overlapping seasons not ideal for athletes
Sahuaro High School girls basketball coach Steve Botkin, whose 549 career victories are the most in Tucson history for that sport, knows how tricky it will be to navigate the potential overlap of winter sports and spring sports, which is an issue for every Tucson high school.
“The (spring sports of 2020) lost half of their season, and we are working very hard to do the right thing for them,” said Botkin, who is also Sahuaro’s athletic director. “They’ve been through some rough times.”
For example, Sahuaro goalkeeper Cassidy Morrow had a team-high 67 saves last year in a soccer season that ended in February. Then she played for the Cougars softball team, hitting .333 and also serving as the No. 2 pitcher. But this year, those seasons overlap.
“We’ll have to figure out a way to share,” said Botkin. “These are obstacles we haven’t faced before, but our staff is working to make it beneficial for all.”’
Sahuaro’s Alyssa Brown averaged 31.1 points and 9.7 rebounds for a Cougars team that advanced to the Class 4A state championship game.
Unfortunately, Sahuaro senior basketball standout Alyssa Brown will not be able to fully pursue the state career scoring record of 1990s Catalina Foothills star Julie Brase Hairgrove, who scored 2,913 points. Brown finished her junior season with 2,094 career points.
“Given the shortened season, maybe 10 or 14 games, we can’t do anything about it,” said Botkin. “At least Alyssa can walk away knowing she set the all-time single season state scoring record (932 points) last year.”
