Jeff Casteel Reunites With Rich Rodriguez At Arizona

While Casteel has a bio on the team’s website, there has not been an announcement or confirmation from the school. In fact West Virginia spokesperson Mike Montero would not confirm that Casteel had already quit to take the Arizona position. “As far as I know, he hasn’t taken a job anywhere,” Montoro told the Arizona Daily Star. “I haven’t been told anything. As far as I know, he’s still our defensive coordinator.”

Casteel had worked at West Virginia since the 2001 season, starting as the defensive line coach and taking over as the defensive coordinator in 2003. Casteel is known for using his 3-3-5 defensive scheme, which utilizes three down lineman and at least five defensive backs.

Yeah, it’s gonna be pretty fun when Rich Rod gets that game against Michigan:

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Last week, Pitt co-offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, secondary coach Tony Gibson, and tight end coach Tony Dews joined Rodriguez in Tucson. This time, it’s Indiana co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Rod Smith, who played for Rodriguez at Glenville and coached with him at Clemson, West Virginia, and Michigan. The gang’s getting back together.

Smith will have the same job title in Arizona.

Being an Arizona Man isn’t anywhere near as complicated as being a Michigan Man, but Rich Rodriguez still needed to make sure he didn’t come out hollering “GOLDEN BEARS FOREVER” or what have you. From Andy Staples’ excellent look at RichRod’s first 48 hours in the desert:

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Rodriguez said he wants to put his staff together about two weeks after the regular season ends, and hopefully by Christmas.

And, yes, he acknowledged he’d “heard about” Matt Scott, the dual-threat QB most are projecting as his new favorite weapon.

↵Whatever it means to be Arizona’s football coach, Rich Rodriguez has a chance to completely re-define it.

Here are five reactions to Arizona’s hiring of former West Virginia and Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez.

1. LOL

Okay, so there was some spontaneous piling on last night. Call it a moment of fun Twitter brilliance outside of the realm of actually evaluating the hire itself.

Rich Rodriguez, who made headlines, good and bad, during his time as head coach at West Virginia and Michigan, has been hired by the University of Arizona as their new head football coach.

Rodriguez brings with him the reputation for installing a fast-paced, spread attack and prolific offenses. However, his offensive schemes weren’t enough all by themselves at Michigan. RichRod’s teams struggled defensively during his three-year reign and he was fired following the 2010 season despite a 7-6 record. He was 15-22 overall at Michigan.

Update: It’s official. Arizona athletic director Greg Byrnes made the announcement by tweeting a photo of Rodriguez and his family.

Rodriguez has been out of coaching since 2010 when he was fired by Michigan following an underwhelming three-year stint in which his teams went 15-22. He had success implementing his innovative offense at Michigan, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for a porous defense. He’s worked as an analyst for CBS Sports since.

Meyer released a statement last week stating that he was not interested in the Penn State position and was happy with his current position as a commentator at ESPN.

Meyer won 65 games and two national championships in six seasons with Florida before leaving to spend more time with his family.

No definite way to take any of that, of course, but it’s only going to further stir speculation that Mullen could be considered for the Zona job, which would offer him both better resources and a less competitive division.

For one evening, Palmer was the Internet’s favorite college football television analyst.

Chadd Cripe:

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It was probably a bad sign when somebody took the time to purchase www.NickFolesInALosingEffort.com, eh?

Most coaches don’t get to retire when they want; they get retired. And in the end, most coaching changes happen either because a) a coach was successful and got pulled away by a bigger/better job, b) the coach’s program completely fell apart and a change was both obvious and necessary and c) Glen Mason Territory reared its ugly head, and the program bit the bullet and made a move. Though Arizona’s recent record suggests (b), this takes on a (c) feel to me.

Mike Stoops is out as Arizona football coach. Wildcats athletic director Gregory Byrne made the announcement official at a press conference Monday night. Defensive coordinator Tim Kish will step in as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

“Today is tough day for the program. It’s an important moment, for sure,” Kish said. “I appreciate Greg’s faith in me to provide leadership to our young men during this difficult time.