I'll play along since that is what Arizona wants and give you a little run down of what Mike Sanford brings to the table. I'll preface this by saying I could be wrong, but I do not believe he will end up being the head coach at Arizona. I do believe it was not an accident that his name went public, but here is a look at he would bring to the table as Arizona's coach. I'm not sold it's a complete smokescreen as some might suggest either but there are already some trying to refute the report.
He's an interesting candidate and here is what he's about.
Mike Sanford Jr.
OVERALL RECORD: 6-7
AGE: 35
CURRENT JOB: Western Kentucky (head coach)
BUYOUT: home-and-home series with new team (at no cost) if possible or $100,000
2017 SALARY: $800,000
PREVIOUS JOB: Notre Dame (OC/QBs)
Why it makes sense: The son of longtime coach Mike Sanford, the 35-year-old head coach at Western Kentucky is well-versed at several different levels of college football. He has been on a fast rise throughout his career having made stops at Notre Dame and Boise State where he was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was also previously at Stanford as wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks coach. He has also made stops at Yale and UNLV early in his career as well. He is another offensive mind, but that is the way this search has been leaning anyway. His style of offense has certainly been tailored more toward the passing game, but that is an area the Wildcats have struggled in and could be used to help elevate that part of Khalil Tate's game.
Where Sanford really separates himself is as a recruiter. He is a monster recruiter and has had a hand in recruiting most of the best prospects at each of his stops. Sanford has a way of getting across to recruits and with plenty of time spent in the West he would be a strong recruiter to have as a head coach at Arizona. He is familiar with the landscape and has a natural ability to get players.
In addition to that he has spent time on the same coaching staff as Marcel Yates back in their Boise State days and is an alum like the UA defensive coordinator. As I have said previously there is a certain part of the decision-making group that would prefer to have Yates remain on staff with the Wildcats to help make the transition to the next guy smoother and keep things as buttoned up, in terms of transfers, as possible. There is of course a chance that if Sanford were to come on board Yates would have enough familiarity to remain in his same position under the next head coach.
On the money side of it, he has a different type of buyout that features a home-and-home series to be set up with the school that snags him away from WKU if possible but if not then $100,000 would suffice. That makes it an easy transaction from that perspective for the Wildcats and makes money sense more than a lot of other candidates who hold jobs at this stage.
Why it doesn't make sense: As well thought of as he is as a coach, Sanford's one season at Western Kentucky took a dip. He finished the year 6-7 and there are certainly already grumbles from fans that he is "ruining" what Jeff Brohm had built there. His offense is certainly one that would fit at a lot of places, including Arizona, but WKU was way more pass-heavy in 2017 than what Arizona looked like under Rodriguez these last two seasons. That doesn't exactly fit Tate's current skill set the best although it could be used to elevate his game, but Western Kentucky was worst rushing team in the nation in Sanford's first season averaging just 60.8 yards per game.
He also falls into that "average fan would have to google him" category that some of the other candidates for Arizona's head coaching job have fallen into. He is a bit more known than some of the others because his dad has been around for so long and he has become pretty popular on the recruiting scene, but the average fan is going to have to look into him some more than some of the other names that have been mentioned that bring instant reactions.
Overview
Sanford is a solid candidate and someone who would infuse some youth into the program as a dynamo recruiter and someone the program could build around. His first season as a head coach was certainly underwhelming but he has the credentials as a developer of talent and his system is adaptable enough that it could work with the Wildcats and maybe even help Tate improve his ability as a passer. He is a football guy through and through and is someone who could shine in the Pac-12 and as a former recruiting coordinator at Stanford under David Shaw he certainly knows what it would take to get top-level talent in the conference. Now could he still do that at Arizona? That would be a big question, but he certainly has some real positives as a candidate.
He's an interesting candidate and here is what he's about.
Mike Sanford Jr.
OVERALL RECORD: 6-7
AGE: 35
CURRENT JOB: Western Kentucky (head coach)
BUYOUT: home-and-home series with new team (at no cost) if possible or $100,000
2017 SALARY: $800,000
PREVIOUS JOB: Notre Dame (OC/QBs)
Why it makes sense: The son of longtime coach Mike Sanford, the 35-year-old head coach at Western Kentucky is well-versed at several different levels of college football. He has been on a fast rise throughout his career having made stops at Notre Dame and Boise State where he was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was also previously at Stanford as wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks coach. He has also made stops at Yale and UNLV early in his career as well. He is another offensive mind, but that is the way this search has been leaning anyway. His style of offense has certainly been tailored more toward the passing game, but that is an area the Wildcats have struggled in and could be used to help elevate that part of Khalil Tate's game.
Where Sanford really separates himself is as a recruiter. He is a monster recruiter and has had a hand in recruiting most of the best prospects at each of his stops. Sanford has a way of getting across to recruits and with plenty of time spent in the West he would be a strong recruiter to have as a head coach at Arizona. He is familiar with the landscape and has a natural ability to get players.
In addition to that he has spent time on the same coaching staff as Marcel Yates back in their Boise State days and is an alum like the UA defensive coordinator. As I have said previously there is a certain part of the decision-making group that would prefer to have Yates remain on staff with the Wildcats to help make the transition to the next guy smoother and keep things as buttoned up, in terms of transfers, as possible. There is of course a chance that if Sanford were to come on board Yates would have enough familiarity to remain in his same position under the next head coach.
On the money side of it, he has a different type of buyout that features a home-and-home series to be set up with the school that snags him away from WKU if possible but if not then $100,000 would suffice. That makes it an easy transaction from that perspective for the Wildcats and makes money sense more than a lot of other candidates who hold jobs at this stage.
Why it doesn't make sense: As well thought of as he is as a coach, Sanford's one season at Western Kentucky took a dip. He finished the year 6-7 and there are certainly already grumbles from fans that he is "ruining" what Jeff Brohm had built there. His offense is certainly one that would fit at a lot of places, including Arizona, but WKU was way more pass-heavy in 2017 than what Arizona looked like under Rodriguez these last two seasons. That doesn't exactly fit Tate's current skill set the best although it could be used to elevate his game, but Western Kentucky was worst rushing team in the nation in Sanford's first season averaging just 60.8 yards per game.
He also falls into that "average fan would have to google him" category that some of the other candidates for Arizona's head coaching job have fallen into. He is a bit more known than some of the others because his dad has been around for so long and he has become pretty popular on the recruiting scene, but the average fan is going to have to look into him some more than some of the other names that have been mentioned that bring instant reactions.
Overview
Sanford is a solid candidate and someone who would infuse some youth into the program as a dynamo recruiter and someone the program could build around. His first season as a head coach was certainly underwhelming but he has the credentials as a developer of talent and his system is adaptable enough that it could work with the Wildcats and maybe even help Tate improve his ability as a passer. He is a football guy through and through and is someone who could shine in the Pac-12 and as a former recruiting coordinator at Stanford under David Shaw he certainly knows what it would take to get top-level talent in the conference. Now could he still do that at Arizona? That would be a big question, but he certainly has some real positives as a candidate.
