I'll have a more thorough rundown of what Arizona AD Dave Heeke had to say a little later, but here are some of the things that stood out about his 45-minute conversation with the media this week.
- Heeke says he has had conversations with "numerous individuals" about the head coach opening at Arizona, but no offer has been made and final conversations have not taken place.
- There is no hard ending date for the current search as of now. He wants to move "swiftly" but adds that he wants to prioritize being thorough as well.
- He felt it was necessary for Arizona to make a change for financial reasons as much as anything. He said the program simply could not afford not to make the move because of how ticket sales and donations would be impacted by the poor production of the program moving forward under Kevin Sumlin. Heeke added that when he met with the coaches and team over the weekend he explained that the loss to Arizona State wasn't the reason the move was made. As of now he says the conversations are ongoing about the buyout.
- At this point the deficit for Arizona in the current fiscal year is expected to be around $45 million at this stage according to Heeke.
- On more than one occasion Heeke stressed the importance of assistant coaches and support staff hires to make the program a successful one as he looks to bring in Arizona's next head coach. It is clear that will be nearly as important to him as who is leading the group in the next phase for the program.
- He says the conversations with football alumni will continue and he values the voice they have in restoring the program.
- Asked whether or not the next head coach will have to have ties back to the program or previous coaches, such as Dick Tomey, Heeke sidestepped the question but did bring up the phrase "connection" a lot and making sure that understanding the history of Arizona football is clear to the next head coach.
- When asked how quickly the turnaround can take place once the new head coach is hired, Heeke expressed that everyone involved has "gotta be patient" since it could take time to get the Wildcats back on track. He says the focus should be on the process and making progress through every step.
- Recruiting will be vital for Arizona and Heeke wanted to make that clear when speaking with the media today saying it is the "lifeblood" of the program and that UA needs "relentless" recruiters on staff.
- On the actual search process, Heeke says a lot of the work has been done virtually over Zoom since travel is difficult right now.
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Just throwing my opinion in here, but after listening to Dave Heeke speak today it feels more clear than ever that Ken Niumatalolo is who he wants leading the program. The way he discussed assistant coach hires being key is an important part of what he was saying today, in my opinion. And, it's something he brought up on his own multiple times throughout the press conference. Reading between the lines it feels like he has his choice in mind already but we'll see what happens once some others get a chance to interview ... or maybe they don't. It would be odd to hold a press conference today only to name a new coach within the next couple days however, but he has made some odd decisions at times so I guess we just never really know.
