Great hire for Arizona IMO.
Sumlin's style of play fits the Pac 12 better than SEC & he'll have the connections to dip into to Texas & recruit a little better than Arizona is probably use to.
Good fit IMO
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Great hire for Arizona IMO.
Sumlin's style of play fits the Pac 12 better than SEC & he'll have the connections to dip into to Texas & recruit a little better than Arizona is probably use to.
Good fit IMO
Interestingly enough I saw Ken Niumatololo turned down the job. So Arizona apparently liked him more than they liked Sumlin which is interesting. Can’t imagine a PAC 12 team running the triple option
Sumlin is definitely a pac12/big12 hc. SEC to physical for his coaching style.
My guess that he would have evolved a little since Arizona would have more talent than Navy.
The service academies run the triple option 1. because they lack talent & size on the OL & 2. because their recruiting doesn't depend on scheme or even football.
That being said, I think the triple option would have success in the Pac 12 at a place Arizona that is a mid-level recruiter in that conference. The triple option is a direct contrast to the way defenses in that conference are built &, if you look at a place like Georgia Tech, it can really work. The ACC has far better DL than the Pac 12.
Can you imagine having to face Washington State one week & a triple option team with Arizona's talent the next?
Navy is near the top academically, so maybe he likes that aspect. Plus, players of the caliber the service academies get have to be easier to work with and train, even though they may be less athletically talented. And he might like living in the megalopolis instead of the relative isolation of Tucson.
Also of note, Brian Daboll is leaving Alabama to become the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills.