Arizona coach Mike Stoops had been given some leeway for last season’s collapse. He had, after all, led the Wildcats to three straight bowls for just the second time in school history.
But when the losses continued to pile up this season, including one to a previously winless team, the latitude was gone.
Arizona fired Stoops midway through his eighth season on Monday, ending a run that started off well before ending with a thud in the desert.
“Coach Stoops did a lot of great things for the program, took over a very challenging situation and made us better,” Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne said. “I think we certainly want to thank him for all his efforts and staff efforts and appreciate everything he’s done for us, (but) I was concerned about the direction of the program and where we were going, and felt that needed to be addressed.”
Defensive coordinator Tim Kish will take over on an interim basis for the rest of the season while the school searches for a new coach.
Stoops joins New Mexico’s Mike Locksley as the only coaches of major college football programs to be fired since this season started.
Known for his emotional sideline behavior, Stoops was the co-defensive
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