5 potential job opportunities for P.J. Fleck
By John Buhler
3. Arizona Wildcats
It may be time for the Arizona Wildcats to move on from head coach Rich Rodriguez. With both the Colorado Buffaloes and the Utah Utes finally competing at a Power 5 level since joining the Pac-12, Arizona is now the worst team in the Pac-12 South. It’s not even really close.
The Wildcats continue to get out-recruited by the rest of the Pac-12. Arizona is a basketball school, but should be a six or seven-win team annually in Tucson. There is enough talent in the region to field a bowl caliber team on the Tucson gridiron.
The Pac-12 has some fantastic coaches, three of whom are above the rest: Chris Petersen at Washington, David Shaw at Stanford, and Kyle Whittingham at Utah. Mike McIntyre seems to be doing well in Colorado, but the 2017 season would be a good entry point for Fleck in the Pac-12 South.
UCLA and USC aren’t world-beaters and the three elite programs in the conference are in the North: Oregon, Stanford, and Washington. There is boom or bust potential with Fleck in Tucson, but he’s capable of taking over for Rodriguez if the University of Arizona thinks it’s time for a change at the helm.