Coaches angry by Stoops’ firing

Associated Press

The firing of Arizona coach Mike Stoops wasn’t completely unexpected. The Wildcats had been on a slide since late last season and didn’t appear to be on the verge of any big breakthroughs.

Still, once word spread around the coaching ranks, the news hit hard, particularly among Stoops’ friends and famous family, but also among coaches concerned about a lack of loyalty by universities that no longer hesitate to fire coaches midseason.

“I think it’s ridiculous, you know, especially considering what he did with that program, where it was when he took over and where it is now,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “People criticize coaches for their lack of loyalty or whatever, but look at what’s happened to him. Loyalty goes both ways you know.”

To be fair to Arizona, Stoops was nine games under .500 (41-50) in his eight seasons with the Wildcats and the team had lost 10 of its previous 11 games after its 37-27 setback to previously winless Oregon State on Saturday.

But part of what made the firing so tough on his fellow coaches was the timing of it.

It used to be coaches were given leeway during a season, that no matter how rough things got, they would likely hold on to their jobs until after the last game.

With the revenue being generated by football programs and the need to keep fan bases — not to mention big-money boosters — happy, the latitude isn’t what it once was.

“I think everything in college football has changed a great deal,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I’ve always thought the longer it goes, the more it gets like the NFL in terms of roster sizes and things like that, and I think it’s been like that in coaching as well.”