Former Arizona defensive coordinator Don Brown, head coach at UMass, was fired last week. No surprise there. That’s life in college football coaching.
Massachusetts head coach Don Brown watches a replay against Texas A&M during the first quarter on Nov. 19, 2022, in College Station, Texas.
Brown was the 21st former Arizona assistant coach to become a head coach. Eighteen of them were ultimately fired, or 87%. The only three to avoid firing have been Kentucky’s Mark Stoops (who is on the hot seat), Tennessee’s Josh Heupel and Purdue’s Ryan Walters, who appears 50/50 to be fired at season’s end.
Before Brown, who went 6-28 at UMass, here’s a list of the former UA assistants who have been fired as head coaches:
Chuck Amato, fired by North Carolina State
Moe Ankney, fired by Bowling Green
Ed Cavanaugh, fired by Army
Steve Axman, fired by NAU
Bob Davie, fired by Notre Dame and New Mexico
Rich Ellerson, fired by Army
Larry Smith (former UA defensive coordinator and later UA head coach) fired by USC and Missouri
John Mackovic (former UA offensive coordinator and later UA head coach) fired by Texas and Arizona
Mike Gottfried, fired by Kansas
Tony Yelovich, fired by Kansas
Sonny Dykes, fired by Cal
Pat Hill, fired by Fresno State
Seth Littrell, fired by North Texas State
Ron McBride, fired by Utah
Bob Weber (former Arizona offensive coordinator and UA head coach) fired by Arizona and Louisville
Dana Dimel, fired by UTEP
Dino Babers, fired by Syracuse
