Kevin Sumlin didn't work out.

The Wildcats are on a historic losing streak, both in the Pac-12 and within the context of the Territorial Cup. The advantage of bringing in one of the country's most successful recruiters while at Texas A&M was supposed to be exactly that- bring elite recruits to Tucson. Instead, Arizona has landed only one Rivals four-star recruit in Sumlin's tenure- Jalen Curry- who has just 16 career receptions.

The high-level recruits that Kevin Sumlin inherited? They didn't fare well either. Drew Dixon opted out of the 2020 season midway through after only catching 17 balls in the last 12 games. Nathan Tilford isn't even on the Wildcats two-deep at running back. Khalil Tate went from being one of the most exciting sophomore dual-threat QBs, to splitting time as a senior, and being unable to get an NFL gig even as an undrafted wide receiver.

Perhaps worst of all, Sumlin's staff failed to even compete for any of the high-level players in the ever-deepening in-state Arizona talent pool, much less the most exciting crop of Tucson prep recruits in decades. While they did land late-rising OL Jordan Morgan in the 2019 class, promising (but raw) QB Will Plummer in the 2020 class, and electric athlete Stevie Rocker is still on board with the 2021 class, the future commit cupboard is bare, as 2022 Salpointe QB Treyson Bourguet and Chandler WR Kyion Grayes, just announced their decommitments.

University of Arizona isn't in rebuild mode. It's a complete demolition. If the Wildcats hope to get back to a place where they're moderately competitive, much less respectable, they need to make a seriously innovative hire. Whoever they hire, it needs to be someone who demonstrates the following characteristics in excess:

Tucson is unique, and by extension, so is University of Arizona. It's a true college town, and while it is often jokingly treated like the ugly stepsibling of the Pac-12, those jokes have never impeded several of the school's athletic programs from having consistent national relevance. Every time Arizona brings in a new football coach, the questions are always the same: "How will you compete for affection on a campus in which the priorities are 1) basketball, 2) basketball, 3) more basketball, 4) baseball and softball, 5) golf and track, 6) looking through telescopes, and finally 7) football?"

But it's not about competition. The right Arizona football coach is an Arizona basketball fan. The right Arizona football coach understands the culture of cross-branding, and can use the Wildcats' Mariana Trench-deep pool of NBA alumni to help gain brand recognition for the football team. The right Arizona football coach is taking morning hikes on Mount Lemmon with an Eegee's in-hand while listening to Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. The right Arizona football coach celebrates the Gadsden Purchase with equal fervor as the fourth of July. The right Arizona football coach starts every sentence with "did you know there are at least four University of Arizona alumni whom are billionaires, and Kourtney Kardashian is on her way." The right Arizona football coach has a dog named Gronk, a cat named Bruschi, plays the Lute, knows the movie Bridesmaids front and back, and is working on a spec-script to convince Jerry Bruckheimer that the next Transformers film should take place in Pima county.

The right Arizona coach doesn't need to be a born and bred Wildcat, but they need to embrace Tucson and its culture in a way that shows they can properly evangelize for he Block A.

There are good sports journalists in Tucson. There's an insatiable base of sports fans in (and from) Tucson who enjoy consuming the content from those good sports journalists. Those good sports journalists are meant to be a tool with which a college athletics program can connect with their community of supporters. Treating those sports journalists like their goal is to leak your proprietary inventions to the masses serves neither you, nor your athletes, whom are counting on your ability to help build them a brand that will be worth capitalizing upon once the NCAA finalizes what name and likeness compensation is going to look like.

Beyond the traditional media, there are tons of local resources that can assist in getting a better understanding of the regional recruiting landscape. Everyone hears anecdotes about college football assistants turning over every rock for the best recruits, or fully vetting the recruits they do target to the point of interviewing school janitors and cafeteria ladies. Guess what? They aren't true, and if they are true, it's definitely not something happening at University of Arizona. My team at ArizonaVarsity has never heard a word from University of Arizona coaches looking to get a foothold in the local recruiting scene. Beyond that, I approached two Arizona assistants myself, offering the help of both me and my team as a resource for anything they ever need. The response? "Thanks but we're good."

You weren't and you aren't. Good luck at your next job.

The toughest thing about being a college football coach is that at the end of the day, the success of your program has little to do with your ability to draw up a game plan, and everything to do with your ability to manage the egos of a hundred people with differing goals, upbringings, outlooks, skillsets and strengths. If you don't hire someone who can effectively communicate a message that garners buy-in from their own staff, how can you expect your vision to filter down into the ranks of the players that are currently on the field, much less the ones that are supposed to be waiting in the wings to step in and compete when their time comes?

And as an athletic director, how can you tell which coaches are going to be able to be effective communicators of their vision, while towing the line between the strength it takes to stand behind your convictions, and the humility it takes to acknowledge that it can't be done alone? And more specifically, if you're Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke, how can you tell if the guy you're interviewing truly wants to lead the Wildcats to glory, or someone who sees the enormous comfy failure parachute you've constructed with your previous two buyouts of coaches that failed to meet your standard?

Make no mistake, Arizona is an attractive job, if for no other reason than they will make your great-grandchildren rich as a reward for giving up 10 touchdowns to your rival.

Arizona needs to make sure that the person they hire is motivated by more than the status of being a power-5 football coach, but that they are rooted in values that aren't corruptible by absence of an ability to truly fail. Because at the end of the day, win or lose, that check is still going to clear.

Arizona football needs a coach that feels at home in times of discomfort, because this job is going to require a whole lot of if before the Wildcats are ready to compete in the Pac-12 south again.

While I've been covering recruiting locally for six seasons, and more recently began covering the Wildcats as part of the Pac-12 Apostles Podcast, I'm obviously an outsider. I'm a Wyoming transplant with a Arizona State degree. I doubt there's incentive for any University of Arizona supporter or alumni to believe that I have their program's best interest at heart. But those who know me know that I'm an ideologue about one thing- the opportunity for flourishing for Arizona prospects. I want this state's kids and coaches to thrive, and the best opportunities for flourishing are going to exist when there are multiple properly-built, regionally-friendly collegiate programs available to them. It isn't helpful for Will Plummer's opportunity to come as part of an offense that couldn't block a pop-up ad, much less any defensive lineman in the Pac-12.

I want the University of Arizona to compete at a high level, and these are the coaching candidates that I think can help them do that:

History: Two-and-a-half decades of major college football coaching experience, including stops at UCLA, Texas, Arizona State, and stints as the offensive coordinator at Nebraska and Oklahoma. 6 seasons as an NFL assistant. Played at Iowa, spent a year with the Chicago Bears, and has spent the last four seasons as head coach in Reno as head coach of University of Nevada.

Staffing: This is probably Norvell's strength. While he has a wealth of experience coaching at the collegiate level, he doesn't depend on his connections to make his staffing decisions. Matt Mumme, air-raid heir, runs his offense, while Arizona native Brian Ward came in from Syracuse to run his defense. He hired defensive analyst Ronnie Wheat away from LSU to work with his safeties, and has Hawaii record-breaker Timmy Chang working with quarterbacks. He took a chance on Riccardo Stewart as a defensive analyst after only a couple of years of experience as a high school assistant. With Norvell, there's a good chance you'd have a ready-made staff ready to come over.

Recruiting: Reno is one of the toughest places in all of college football to recruit to, but Norvell has cast a wide net, and has landed prospects from all over California, Nevada, Texas and Arizona. There haven't been many elite prospects, but University of Arizona fans have to come to grips with the reality that if Kevin Sumlin couldn't get into there recruits' Top 5 schools on name recognition alone, that the recruiting at Arizona is going to be more about finding hidden gems than scooping up sparkling diamonds.

My Take: If Norvell can recruit to Reno, he can recruit to Tucson. If Norvell can operate with success in under the budget constraints in Reno, he can probably do the same in Tucson. I like Norvell for the simple fact that he's established, respected, and from all accounts, a disciplined and principled leader who delegates and enables his assistants.

History: Former back-to-back-to-back Arizona state champion as head coach of the Chaparral Firebirds, Charlie Ragle has coached collegiately at both University of Arizona for five seasons under Rich Rodriguez, and now is in his fourth year at the University of California.

Staffing: Charlie Ragle has been an assistant for 11 seasons, so while he certainly has a large number of connections across the Pac-12, it's hard to know who he'd assemble to bring along to Arizona. One thing is for certain, however- it wouldn't be your conventional hires. Ragle has been successful as a collegiate assistant, in part, because of his connections to the state of Arizona and his appreciation for the rise of the talent level of the state that he once helped cultivate as a high school coach. My guess is that anyone he brought to the U of A would need to share that same zeal for prioritizing and celebrating what makes State 48 unique, not only as a way to lock up local talent, but to also proselytize to Californians and Texans all the reasons why they should relocate.

Recruiting: Charlie Ragle is a recruiter, plain and simple. Having a recruiter as head coach, so long as you have the ability to delegate coaching responsibilities to competent parties, has worked out just fine for Oregon and Arizona State. There shouldn't be any doubt about what Charlie Ragle brings to the table in this area.

My Take: I'm not objective on this. If you're seeing Charlie Ragle's name pop up across various local media members Twitter feeds as a legitimate candidate for the Arizona job, just as it did when Northern Arizona had an opening, there's a pretty simple explanation for it- we've seen coach after coach come to the in-state schools with decent intentions regarding the prioritization of in-state talent, but without the stamina or intestinal fortitude to withstand the challenges that come along with recruiting here. They all start strong, drop off, and then end up blaming the local recruits for their own inability to hold their attention. Charlie Ragle knows this, and has used it to his advantage- but his ultimate goal is to bring his recipe for success closer to home, and I have no doubt in my mind that he'd be able to execute on it. Would it mean wins? That I don't know. It would unquestionably be better than what's going on right now.

History: Kenny Dillingham's trajectory has been like that of a SpaceX rocket. He ran the offense at Chaparral High under Charlie Ragle before moving to an offensive analyst role at Arizona State, and from there followed Mike Norvell to Memphis, where his responsibilities increased year over year, leading to him running one of the most explosive offenses in the country before spending a year as Auburn's offensive coordinator, and this past season calling the offense for Florida State.

Staffing: Kenny Dillingham is part of the Todd Graham coaching tree, which is intermarried with the Gus Malzahn coaching tree. There are assistants and staffers all over the country that have the ability to be plugged in and hit the ground running on the offensive side of the football. Defensively, that's more of a question mark.

Recruiting: Wherever Kenny Dillingham has gone, offers to Arizona's elite prospects have followed. Regardless of the distance, he never let loose of his grip on the Arizona recruiting scene. He was an ambitious recruiter even as an offensive assistant, and nearly landed ASU a 5-star running back commitment out of New Jersey, and his public courting of that player ultimately helped lead to the NCAA to enact a rule that schools are not allowed to have public nicknames such as "the eagle" for recruits. Dillingham can recruit nationally, and he's braved, though briefly, the recruiting pressures of the SEC and ACC while still remaining rooted in his ties to Arizona.

My Take: Someone young and ambitious might be the right move after back to back big-name recently fired retreads led to a billion dollars in buyouts and a 2-7 record in the Territorial Cup. Kenny Dillingham knows and respects the Arizona football scene, but understands the need for a national recruiting approach.

History: He's been everywhere, man. After making his name as a recruiter at San Jose State, he went from Arizona, to Nebraska, to Oregon, to USC, and has brought high level talent with him at every stop.

Staffing: This is an unknown. Williams undoubtedly has a ton of connections, but would hey be willing to come and work for him? Could he garner the loyalty in staf that he's always managed to garner from recruits?

Recruiting: Donte Williams is the best recruiter in the Pac-12. The other assistants who disagree with that statement can't even take the time to formulate a proper response, because while they'd be focused on their rebuttal, he'd be focused on jacking their recruits.

My Take: Donte Williams has spent the last decade as a mercenary. While I know he disagrees with that statement, as he blocked me on Twitter for saying it three stops ago... there's nothing wrong with being one, especially if you're the best. If you're going to be a hired sword, you might as well be Dario Naharis. It would be intriguing to see what he'd be able to accomplish if he were the CEO of a team instead of the CEO's top earner.

History: Won six championships at Saguaro High. Attracts the best talent in the state to his program year over year. Built and sustained nationally ranked program that the Arizona Interscholastic Association has had to change the rules of competition to ensure other teams at their enrollment level don't have to compete against them come playoff time.

Staffing: One of the biggest questions with any high school coach moving to the collegiate level is how they're going to staff up in order to compete (It was an issue when UNLV took a risk on Bishop Gorman head coach Tony Sanchez). Jason Mohns currently coaches a staff of primarily former college athletes, and as a national network of coaches he's worked with over time that he could choose from. But how will he land assistants with college experience? Well, the talent pool he's had at Saguaro sort of lent itself to him being the primary contact for hundreds of college coaches over the last decade. I don't think it would be as hard as it might seem on the surface.

Recruiting: Jason Mohns has had a front row seat to what does and doesn't work with four and five star recruits for the last decade. He has a great relationship with the recruiting services like Rivals and 247, so he has the ability to get in depth assessments of players that go beyond where they're ranked.

My Take: Hiring a high school head coach to take a Power 5 job would be a big risk and make national waves, but what to the Wildcats have to lose? They need someone who is going to embrace and embody the culture of the state of Arizona, and Arizona State fans already think Jason Mohns is a villain based on not landing several of the Sabercats high level recruits over the years. Might as well pull a ready-made adversary into the Territorial Cup, and go with someone who has won multiple meaningful postseason games in the city of Tucson.

History: Jay Hill is a University of Utah product who worked under Urban Meyer and Kyle Wittingham before taking the head coaching job at Weber State in 2014. He took the team from the bottom of the Big Sky to four straight FCS playoff trips, and three consecutive 10+ win Big Sky title seasons.

Staffing: Jay Hill has built a successful staff at Weber State, but many of his assistants outside of longtime high level assistant Brent Myers have ties to the area. My guess is that his philosophy in Tucson might be similar- looking for assistants with a good coaching pedigree that also have ties to the community.

Recruiting: Weber State not only does a good job recruiting, including in the state of Arizona, but they also have a handle on the transfer market, which is not only the immediate future of recruiting, but the best and quickest way that University of Arizona is going to get back to a competitive level.

My Take: Jay Hill has proven he can take a team for worst to first. My only concern would be that his eye is actually on the University of Utah job, where he spent over a decade, and where Morgan Scalley has had his head-coach-in-waiting status revoked.

History: Antonio Pierce is a relatively green collegiate assistant when you consider he has just three years under his belt after being hired out of Long Beach Poly, but he's gone from LB coach, to head of recruiting, to co-defensive coordinator in that time. He's a former Arizona Wildcat LB who won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants. Some ASU fans believe Herm Edwards eventual succession plan runs through Pierce.

Staffing: Antonio Pierce just had his first foray into assisting with staffing duties at ASU, and took risks on young recruiting all-stars Prentice Gill and Chris Hawkins. If given the head coaching reigns, there's no doubt his hiring practices would be out of the box.

Recruiting: Antonio Pierce wants the best players, and he doesn't care where they come from (He's also capable of getting them). While that's the attitude you need in order to rebuild or restock any talent pool, University of Arizona is in a unique position to build up an Arizona base because Pierce's gaze is nationwide. If Pierce came to Arizona, the strategy would likely mirror what he's done in Tempe.

My Take: I don't think Antonio Pierce's one year at Arizona made him any type of die-hard Wildcat. Most JuCo football players learn to become a host unto themselves in order to succeed, and I don't think Pierce is any different. Even if he did come to Arizona, I'm certain any level of success that garnered attention from a bigger, more resourceful program would attract his attention. He'd be a great hire in the short term, and might be the salve that soothes what is ailing the Wildcats, but I don't see him as a long-term solution.

History: Brennan Marion went from JuCo standout to record-breaking deep threat at Tulsa before getting his start as an offensive assistant under Todd Graham at Arizona State. He has four years of collegiate offensive coordinator experience at Howard and William & Mary before taking the WR coach job under Todd Graham at University of Hawaii.

Staffing: This is an unknown. Marion is, like others on this list, a young and fast-rising coach who hasn't had to build a staff. Because of his stops at smaller schools, and his connection to the Todd Graham coaching tree, it's possible he has connections that I'm unaware of here, but this would certainly be a risk.

Recruiting: Marion's personal story of his road to success as an unheralded high school recruit is something that has resonated with players. He's been very adept at getting his story out there, and his skill with personal branding, use of social media, and and continued connection to the areas in which he's recruited could lead to a lot of success in earning the trust of recruits and transfers alike.

My Take: I'm early on this one and I know it. Brennan Marion will be a Power 5 head coach some day, and that won't be next year at the University of Arizona... but I know deep down he'd be a good fit to build a program from scratch in the modern era.

History: Darrin Chiaverini started the decade as an assistant at UCLA, then went from the offensive coordinator of Riverside Community college, to a one-year stint at Texas Tech, before landing at Colorado in 2015, where he remains today as the OC.

Staffing: He's been through two head coaching changes at Colorado. Both times he did what anyone who believed in their skillset would do, and came up with a plan for what he'd do if given the opportunity to be the Buffaloes head coach. Both times the role was given to someone else, who ultimately chose to keep him on staff.

Recruiting: Chiaverini is widely regarded as a more than capable recruiter and is the primary reason Brenden Rice is making a name for himself as one of the top freshmen in the country in Boulder, Colorado instead of Tempe, Arizona. He's got great connections to Texas, and knows the Arizona landscape very well.

My Take: I honestly thought that Colorado was going to make him their head coach prior to the 2019 season, but they went with Karl Dorrell. The fact that Chiaverini stayed on board, and has helped the Buffaloes offense look competent with a RB who has had multiple torn ACLs, a QB who payed safety last year, and a young receiving corps should be reason enough to consider him for the opening at Arizona.

History: Salave'a played at Arizona before spending a few years in the NFL. Former Arizona coach Dick Tomey gave him his first coaching job at San Jose State, and after a brief stop at Arizona in 2011, he's coached at Washington State and Oregon, where his duties expanded from defensive line to Associate Head Coach.

Staffing: Salave'a hasn't had to staff on his own, but neither have most of the coaches on this list. He's got a decade of Pac-12 experience and as worked alongside defensive assistants that now span the entire collegiate football landscape.

Recruiting: Salave'a has immense value as a recruiter, and not just with the polynesian football community. He's signed defensive linemen out of North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Nevada, Colorado, Florida and Texas, while helping land prized California recruits like Keyon Ware-Hudson, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Mase Funa, Sua'ava Poti and the yet-to-be-signed Keanu Williams. He's a monster as a recruiter and his 2019 DL class might be one of the best ever.

My Take: This is the hire the people want. Perhaps Arizona should give the people what they want.

History: Bryan Harsin was a Dan Hawkins and Chris Peterson assistant at Boise State who spent time at Texas, then was named head coach of Arkansas State before returning to Boise and continuing them on their long streak of success, not only against Mountain West teams, but against the Power 5 schools foolish enough to schedule them.

Staffing: People are always looking to hire away Boise State assistants, as Arizona State did with OC Zak Hill last year, so Harsin has plenty of experience replenishing a staff. He's been a head coach for seven years. This wouldn't be a problem.

Recruiting: Boise State does what they can. It's an attractive destination for Californians who slip through the Power 5 cracks, and a destination for solid prep QBs every single year. They have nine three-star recruits committed to their 2021 class. By comparison, University of Arizona has 13.The automatic assumption is that Harsin could do more with more, but that will also depend on the assistants he brings with him. Many of Harsin's current assistants have Arizona ties, including DBs coach Jalil Brown, and defensive assistant Jake Casteel. Under Harsin, Boise State has always recruited Arizona well, and I'd expect that effort from Harsin would continue if he made the jump to the Pac-12.

My Take: As a Wyoming fan, by all means, please get this man out of the Mountain West. It's probably the best hire the Wildcats could make as far as experience and pedigree, but would Harsin want to leave Boise, even after openly criticizing the Mountain West Conference this year?

History: Brent Brennan has paid his dues. After playing at UCLA, he took Grad Assistant jobs at Hawaii, Washing ton and Arizona before landing his first position coaching job at Cal Poly. He then coached at SDSU for a year (2005), and then SJSU as an assistant for 6 seasons before making the jump to the Pac-12 with Oregon State. He was named Head Coach at SJSU in 2016, and is in the midst of a 7-game winning streak just two years after going 1-11.

Staffing: Brent Brennan is as experienced as any coach on this list, but perhaps has the most overall coaching experience on the west coast. His connections to a regionally relevant hiring pool is strong.

Recruiting: Recruiting has been an uphill battle at most of the schools that Brennan has coached at, so the good thing is there won't be any surprises- the uphill battle will continue. What has been most impressive about Brennan's time as a college football coach is what he does with recruits once he gets them. Just look at guys like Brandin Cooks, and Arizona product Markus Wheaton. He's familiar with Arizona, and has extensive ties in California.

My Take: I'm not sure his success at San Jose State is sustainable, so it might be wise to strike while the iron is hot and really pursue this opportunity to be a head coach in the Pac-12. Brennan has simply never had it easy, and Arizona needs someone who understands just how much of an uphill battle this is going to be. At the same time, I'm not sure that a hire like this gets Arizona the best value for their dollar... not that the history of their recent buyouts would lead you to believe that they care about that sort of thing.

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