Lock Down Stoops

[Wildcat05]

Hey friends,

I was reading a few sports blogs and I saw Stoops come up in the same conversation as soon-to-be-open coaching positions (Georgia and some others). I know Stoops has a contract that's extending 'til 2013, but is it time to lock him into a more secure contract?

What are your thoughts? I really don't pay attention to the details, I just want to make sure coach Stoops isn't lured away by another program. Or if he is, we get the cash from a big money buyout, to hire in another coach that will keep our upward momentum.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

No thanks.

 

[HooverDam]

No thanks.

What are your realistic expectations for UA football? It seems to me Tomey did a great job and should've never been fired. Getting UA to the Fiesta Bowl was a big deal and it seems Stoops has UA trending in a positive direction after a slow start taking over for the awful Makovic.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

About a 7-8 win program jumping up into the 10 win realm every now and then and mixing in a losing clunker season every now and then. Tomey was that guy. Stoops isn't a good enough head coach to win 10 games in a season and don't think we should pay upper-echelon money (I heard Stoops is looking to make between $1.5 million - $2 million) for a guy who will never get us over the hump. I won't even get into his other embarrassing antics.

Think Dirk Koetter situation except I don't think Stoops will be fired anytime soon. Might take another job for more dough however. Greg Byrne is playing it pretty close to the vest regarding his future.

 

[Gaddabout]

Mark Stoops is the name I see coming up most often. If Bellotti doesn't take the Colorado job, I can see little brother getting that job.

Until Mike Stoops wins something of real value I don't see him getting the big call he might be waiting for (and would leave Arizona for). Despite varied opinion locally, Arizona isn't seen as an impossible job. Mind you, it was a monstrous reclamation job considering the big pile of poo he started with (and consider me stunned he's actually turned it around), but what he's done isn't considered a miraculous piece of work. Arizona should be at least a middle-tier program. It has built-in advantages over fellow conference programs like Oregon State and Wazzu.

Georgia's not going to hire another 8-win coach. They've already got one and they can't stand him. What has he done that's going to bring him a job that isn't anything more than a lateral move right now? I'm sure he's pretty cozy for the time being in Tucson, where 8 wins will keep him employed indefinitely.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Mark Stoops is the name I see coming up most often. If Bellotti doesn't take the Colorado job, I can see little brother getting that job.

Until Mike Stoops wins something of real value I don't see him getting the big call he might be waiting for (and would leave Arizona for). Despite varied opinion locally, Arizona isn't seen as an impossible job. Mind you, it was a monstrous reclamation job considering the big pile of poo he started with (and consider me stunned he's actually turned it around), but what he's done isn't considered a miraculous piece of work. Arizona should be at least a middle-tier program. It has built-in advantages over fellow conference programs like Oregon State and Wazzu.

Georgia's not going to hire another 8-win coach. They've already got one and they can't stand him. What has he done that's going to bring him a job that isn't anything more than a lateral move right now? I'm sure he's pretty cozy for the time being in Tucson, where 8 wins will keep him employed indefinitely.

Mike has a big issue with the UA facilities or lack thereof, for a lot more money and an AD he knows will have his back I'm not sure he'd view a program like Minnesota as a lateral move. That and his soon to be ex-wife is getting ready to take half his dough, I'm sure he's looking for a raise.

 

[Gaddabout]

Mike has a big issue with the UA facilities or lack thereof, for a lot more money and an AD he knows will have his back I'm not sure he'd view a program like Minnesota as a lateral move. That and his soon to be ex-wife is getting ready to take half his dough, I'm sure he's looking for a raise.

Wow. I was not aware. Interesting, but Minnesota? That's a lifetime of 7 wins and meaningless bowl games right there. And no way he recruits Texas from that state.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Wow. I was not aware. Interesting, but Minnesota? That's a lifetime of 7 wins and meaningless bowl games right there. And no way he recruits Texas from that state.

I don't know what the divorce terms are but yeah, they are done as a couple after trying to get back together. You also forget that Stoops is an Iowa guy who was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio aka Big 10 country. And per rivals Brewster got 15 Texas kids in his four classes at Minnesota so it's not impossible if you have the connections.

I'm not saying it's going to happen, but if Minnesota offers their rumored $2 million to Stoops annually that along with their improved facilities likely make it a better gig than Arizona. Sad but true.

 

[Gaddabout]

$2 mil a year with Minny's facilities would make the job better than most, I think, but I still think recruiting top talent to that place is a challenge and the local talent base plays basketball.

 

[Wildcat05]

Mao, how silent you were when the Cats were a top 15 team. Now that we've lost 2 in a row, you're back to your old self. What I don't get is this: why are you so against giving Stoops his due support after he turned this team from one that didn't win 8 games in a three year span to a team that looks to finish in the top 3 again. This coming in a year when the Pac10 looks stronger than ever and people were picking us to finish 5th or 6th.

Maybe Stoops isn't a guy who will get us to a national powerhouse program. But I firmly believe that he can get us to a Rose Bowl. We were 6 seconds away from it last year.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Six seconds, six games...doesn't really matter. You and the ASU fans can talk about how close you once were but it's rather moot. And Arizona was only ranked a top 15 team, they never were that good. They are and always were around a 8-4 team like most predicted before the season.

Here's the reality of Arizona Football: It has never gone to a Rose Bowl. It hangs over the program, the university, and the City of Tucson like a black cloud. My only wish for the program is to get there and I'm willing to sacrifice a lot both before and after to reach that pinnacle. If you think Mike Stoops with his limited recruiting base can coach up a team enough to win the 10-11 games required to go to a Rose Bowl then, well, good luck with that because he will never take us there.

Again - not saying he should be fired or anything but paying the guy upper-echelon Pac-10 money is an absolute joke. You should probably do something that elite coaches do before asking for elite coach coin.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Six seconds, six games...doesn't really matter. You and the ASU fans can talk about how close you once were

Uh, what?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Uh, what?

Was referring to the certain ASU fans that are drinking the kool-aid because you've lost so many close games this year.

 

[Wildcat05]

@Mao

Right, I'm not saying crown the guy King of Tucson or anything. Just give the guy his dues. What we do know is he brought this team out from the grave and took them to a Holiday Bowl. We are competing again in the Pac 10. Mentioning the Cats going to the Rose Bowl is not a complete joke like it was a few years ago.

I'm actually not expecting coach Stoops to take the Cats to the Rose Bowl. But what I'd love for him to do is to get our program in a respectable place. What I don't want to happen is like what happened in Tempe, when Koetter was deemed he couldn't get the Devils over the hump he was let go. And now look at ASU. What I also don't want to see happen is what happened when Tomey wasn't deemed capable.

I don't think Stoops has shown he is unable to get us over the hump. I feel like we have finally arrived AT the hump. And I'd love it for him to keep us there until we can hire the right coach who can take us to the next level. He was hired to bring us from the depth of the Pac10 and he's done just that. Let's reward him and see if he can take us a bit further. That's my stance. And you have said your stance.

BTW, for what it's worth, yes UA hasn't been to the Rose Bowl. But do you know when the last time OSU or Cal have been to the Rose Bowl? It was before UA even joined the Pac10. By like 10 years! That is much worse, imo.

 

[Chaplin]

It doesn't matter how long it's been since Cal or OSU have been to the Rose Bowl. If Stoops isn't the guy that's going to get us there, then there is absolutely no reason to lock him up long term.

Our goal every single season should be to find the right mix of players AND COACHES that will get us to the Rose Bowl. PERIOD.

 

[Wildcat05]

@Chaplin

I don't disagree. But I would rather us build a solid program that works its way up to becoming a perennial powerhouse than a flash in the pan.

What seems to kill most college programs in our situation is constant changeover at the helm. We aren't Notre Dame. We can't just get the top guy every year. We need to build stability. That's how I feel.

 

[Chaplin]

@Chaplin

I don't disagree. But I would rather us build a solid program that works its way up to becoming a perennial powerhouse than a flash in the pan.

What seems to kill most college programs in our situation is constant changeover at the helm. We aren't Notre Dame. We can't just get the top guy every year. We need to build stability. That's how I feel.

IMO there is also a ceiling, and right now, Stoops has reached that ceiling. Will he exceed it? It's certainly possible, but from what we've seen for years now, unlikely.

Granted, a single coach probably won't take us over the top, but there comes a point where kids will look at sideline antics and be turned off by them. The Cats are in a good position right now, but they really don't seem to be moving forward, and by definition, if you don't move forward, you either stay stagnant or move backward (although right now over the past 3 games we appear to be starting that move backward). That's just not good enough.

 

[Wildcat05]

What do you think we should do? Should we wait for Stoops' contract to expire?

 

[Gaddabout]

I think y'all should make this decision based on the staff. If his staff is as good or better than the one he started with, you stand a good chance to continue improving. If his staff has been on the decline, you should be wary.

I've studied coaches going back long before I was born. The coaches that were successful either retained their original staff or established a tradition of producing good head coaches and replacing them with more future head coaches.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Bump. Hopefully the Gophers take him off our hands next month.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Sean Miller > Mike Stoops

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Bump.

I actually went down to watch these two dog crap teams bumble their way around the field and that was probably the worst coaching performance from a UofA Football coach I've seen in awhile which is hard to do considering the coaches have been Mike Stoops and Mackovic. Yeah, Zendejas and the rest of the special teams are a joke but this result is a direct result of poor game planning. Quite the embarrassment.

Lock him up? Seven years, zero top 25 finishes. He's lucky that he coaches at low expectation Arizona and not a real football program or else he'd be out on the street for wasting so much talent and failing to take advantage of a weak Pac-10 and his downtrodden rival. What a joke.

 

[Gaddabout]

I think there's something definitely suspect about the game plan when ASU can show up with exactly ONE defensive look for the whole game and Arizona can't put up points in the first half. Even against UCLA ASU showed a few different looks. Not this game. They played base every single play.

 

[Mulli]

I think there's something definitely suspect about the game plan when ASU can show up with exactly ONE defensive look for the whole game and Arizona can't put up points in the first half. Even against UCLA ASU showed a few different looks. Not this game. They played base every single play.

If that is the case, how is it that Foles could be NFL ready, when he failed score on such a defense in the first half?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

If that is the case, how is it that Foles could be NFL ready, when he failed score on such a defense in the first half?

Foles only had like 15 passing attempts in the first half most of which were underneath safe plays. And for some reason Stoops thought it would be a good idea to bring Matt Scott in for two prime field position drives in the first half when he is clearly the inferior quarterback. Once we started going with what has worked all season in the second half (Juron Criner deep routes opening up the field) Foles was excellent.