The temptation is there. Oh, is it ever.
If you’ve read anything about John Mackovic’s firing on Sunday as head coach of Arizona, then the seeds have probably been planted in your mind that Mike Price has already moved into an apartment in Tucson.
That’s getting a little too far ahead of yourself.
And it’s a shame that the former Washington State head coach has been so prominently mentioned. It’s a shame that someone in his position could be named as the head of a program not even a year after a scandal in which his (dis)honor broke out.
Price never coached a game with Alabama; instead he lost his job after he was allegedly caught cavorting — and I say that loosely — with strippers in his spare time.
He did nothing illegal, at least in the eyes of the law. But I’m sure his wife didn’t appreciate his actions and obviously neither did the Crimson Tide. The program decided to cast him aside after his indiscretions.
It is natural for Price to be mentioned as Mackovic’s successor, especially since he had so much success with Washington State in the last few years he was in Pullman. After all, if a coach can get any kind of recruits to the lonely Northwest city, that’s something to write home about.
And there’s no doubt in my mind he would have had some kind of success with Alabama. The school plays in the Southeastern Conference, a much tougher league annually than the Pacific-10 Conference.
Regardless, he’s an excellent on-the-field coach.
And yet, he would do no good for the Arizona program or the face of collegiate athletics.
To fire Mackovic at this point in the season is just plain bad timing. Granted, it’s not surprising that he was let go, but a struggling team usually doesn’t get much better because the general on the sidelines is removed during the season. Mike Hankwitz has tons of experience as an assistant, but is entering his first head coaching job.
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti — the dean of Pac-10 coaches, in his ninth season — questioned the timing as well.
“I don’t think it’s a positive day when anybody gets fired at any time, and I also think it was a little interesting that the (athletic director, Jim Livengood) said up until last week he would evaluate him at the end of the season, and that he had never fired anybody mid-season in 19 years, and then he changed his mind,” Bellotti said.
Price could fill the vacant spot until the season is over, but the team would not be comprised of his recruits, nor would the team’s coaches. It would be hard for him to succeed, especially since the team is already 1-4 this season.
And the character issues still remain.
Price never had any public problems in Pullman, but the fact he had his indiscretions at a time where collegiate coaches are under the microscope hurt him.
Had Price visited strip clubs 20 years ago, it’s probable nothing would have been made of it. Now, though, any kind of major slip-up can cost someone their job.
That doesn’t make what he did right, so to hire Price would send the wrong message to the rest of the Pac-10 and the nation. It would say that character isn’t valued and that winning is all that’s accounted for.
The critics of collegiate sports would have a field day if he were to take over.
Besides, the turmoil surrounding the Wildcats’ program could be cut with a knife, so why add a questionable character to the equation?
Names like Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins are being mentioned as a possible successor, so there should be definite interest in the program. But why not go after the likes of former UCLA head coach Bob Toledo or USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow?
They don’t carry any baggage with them and have had recent success with their teams.
Regardless, at this point the Wildcats shouldn’t be in a hurry up mode to find the new face of Arizona football.
To hire Price would be a step in the wrong direction.