Arizona Football: 5 potential replacements for Rich Rodriguez

Arizona football let Rich Rodriguez go on Tuesday night due to off-field issues and here’s who could replace him for the Wildcats.

Shocking news came out of Tucson on Tuesday night as it was rumored that Rich Rodriguez was suddenly on the hot seat for issues off the field. Just hours later, the administration decided to move on from the veteran coach after turning the Wildcats around in 2017 following a terrible 2016 campaign.

Given the reason for firing, Rodriguez will need to clear his name before he will even be considered for any head coaching jobs in the near future.

That leaves the Wildcats without a coach and they are the second program in the state of Arizona to fire their head coach this offseason — Arizona State fired Todd Graham to start the offseason. Herm Edwards now heads the Sun Devils, but what route will the Wildcats go?

Here are five potential coaching candidates for Rich Rodriguez at Arizona.

5. Rocky Long (San Diego State HC)

One of the main reasons Brady Hoke had so much success at San Diego State before leaving for Michigan was because of then-defensive coordinator Rocky Long. He helped the Aztecs to relevance which led to Hoke leaving for greener pastures.

When the head coach left, though, he took over as San Diego State’s top dog and has had success ever since, making seven straight bowl games. He has never won less than seven games at San Diego State and has three straight years of 10-plus victories.

Coming off an Armed Forces Bowl loss and a 10-win season, Long could make the jump to a job like Arizona to close out his coaching career, but this might be a big risk on both sides given his age (67).

This might be a bit of a stretch due to that age, but he’s a proven winner and would likely make the Wildcats’ transition seamless and he wouldn’t leave much of an adjustment for the coach to follow.