Turns out, giving up 41 points to Stanford is a fireable offense in the Pac-12 these days.
Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin axed defensive coordinator Marcel Yates and linebackers coach John Rushing, as first reported by the Arizona Daily Star on Sunday night.
The move had to be a tough one personally for Sumlin as Yates worked on his staff previously at Texas A&M. Yates, a holdover from Rich Rodriguez‘s staff, was in his fourth season running Arizona’s defense. Arizona never ranked higher than 98th nationally in scoring defense under his direction; the Wildcats stand at 118th today, permitting an even 35 points per game.
To replace Yates and Rushing, Sumlin is sliding up two members of his support staff. Chuck Cecil will take over as defensive coordinator and Hank Hobson will move to the full-time staff. Both worked as analysts for the Wildcats.
Cecil and Hobson share upbringings as decorated linebackers at Arizona, though Cecil is obviously the more decorated of the two. A College Football Hall of Famer as a player, Cecil spent 15 years coaching in the NFL, rising as high as the defensive coordinator spot for the Tennessee Titans in 2009-10.
Arizona is 4-4 on the season (2-3 Pac-12). The Wildcats host Oregon State on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks).