By
The Wildcat Opinions Board
Dick Tomey certainly has amassed some impressive accomplishments during his 13 plus years as the head coach of the UA football team. He is the winningest coach in school history with 95 victories, his players and those close to the football program rarely utter a bad breath about him and his teams are almost always within striking distance in the fourth quarter.
UA Athletic Director Jim Livengood has a policy of reviewing the performance of each head coach at the end of their season. And while Tomey will not have many blemishes on the "character" portion of his report card, his "performance" section is a different story.
Tomey is the anti-Bobby Knight - he's a hard-working, honest man fans really want to root for. Unfortunately, college football is about more than being a nice guy. Besides being entrusted with the fatherly duty of molding young men into well-rounded adults, Tomey must make sure he and his staff put a quality product on the field. Right or wrong, college football is a business, and when less than 2,000 fans are left in Arizona Stadium for the University of Arizona's homecoming game against a nationally-ranked Oregon State team, a change needs to be made.
Ticket sales and other revenues brought in by the football team are a major source of funding for the entire athletic department. When the football team strings together several fair seasons in a row, as it has done, other sports get hit hard in the wallet. In 1997, the football team finished the regular season with a record of 6-5. It followed that season with a standout 11-1 campaign in 1998, but Dennis Northcutt, Chris McAlister and Trung Canidate deserve a good chunk of the credit for that year. The team has since returned to the middle of the Pac with a 5-6 mark last year and a 5-5 record this year.
Tomey has not built up a nationally-recognized program in his tenure at Arizona. Hard-working teams that consistently compete for spots in the lesser bowls, yes. Squads that, for the most part, stay clear of the off-field troubles that surround other schools, including Florida State University and Nebraska, yes. But a competitive program? No.
Is it all Tomey's fault? Certainly not. But the reality is, the "up the middle, up the middle, up the middle, PUNT!" chants in the student section get directed at Tomey, and not offensive coordinator and playcaller Dino Babers. The nature of the beast known as collegiate athletics is that its the head coach's head on the chopping block when you-know-what hits the fan. And while Tomey's integrity would be missed, we think Livengood could find a coach capable of bringing character and wins to the football program.
We do see one way in which Tomey could remain head coach next season - beat Arizona State Friday. A winning season that included a victory against our arch-rival and a bowl berth would ease the sting of another mediocre season. Plus, four of the five teams that beat Arizona - Ohio State, Oregon, Washington and Oregon State - are all nationally ranked, which also makes this "rebuilding" season a bit easier to accept. This "win and stay, lose and you're gone" approach might seem a bit shallow, but that's the business Tomey and all college coaches are in.
Plus, a win-one-for-Dick mentality might be exactly what the players need right now. After four straight losses, they sure need something.
This editorial represents the collaborative stance of the Arizona Daily Wildcat Opinions Board.
