Arizona football: 5 candidates to replace Kevin Sumlin as Wildcats coach

TUCSON, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 11: Head coach Kevin Sumlin of the Arizona Wildcats watches from the sidelines during the secod half of the NCAAF game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Arizona Stadium on December 11, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona. This years game is the 94th contest of the Territorial Cup. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

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Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Graham Harrell, USC Offensive Coordinator

A branch of Mike Leach’s coaching tree, as he also played quarterback for Leach at Texas Tech, Harrell is in his second season as offensive coordinator at USC. Last year, in his first season running the show under Clay Helton, the Trojans were top-25 in the country in total offense, passing offense, completion percentage, third-down percentage and first downs. True freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis set multiple records.

Heading into Saturday’s game against rival UCLA, USC is 4-0 this season with the country’s 17th-ranked pass offense. Slovis is seventh in the country in completion percentage (72.1 percent), and eighth in passing yards per game (314.25).

Before heading to USC, Harrell was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at North Texas. In 2017 and 2018, the Mean Green were top-26 in the country in scoring, total and passing offense. So he is building a resume as an offensive mind apart from any association to Leach, and he’s sure to get looks for head coaching jobs after the season.

Arizona got a close look at Harrell’s offense earlier this season. Slovis went 30-for-43 for 325 yards in the game, as the Trojans put up 498 yards of offense in a 34-30 victory.

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