The Arizona Wildcats will be conducting a thorough search for their new head coach candidate. One potential possibility is Chris Petersen from Boise State, although it's highly unlikely he'd be interested in taking the job considering he's gotten better offers in the past and turned them down.
But what about Mike Leach?
Leach has been out of the coaching game for two years, and all signals indicate that that the former pirate leader of the Texas Tech Red Raiders is ready to come back and coach again. Would Leach be interested in taking a further move out West instead of looking for a more glamorous job out among the Eastern schools?
A remote environment like Tucson does seem to fit Leach's quirky personality, the Pac-12's version of Lubbock. He'd be able to transition pretty seamlessly in terms of offense, as Arizona runs a variant of the Airraid offense Leach popularized in Texas Tech. So recruiting strategy would hardly have to change much to try and succeed out West.
Arizona will at least have to consider Leach if he decides he'd be interested in the job. It would certainly devastate UCLA football fans who are looking at Leach as a potential replacement if things fall apart with Rick Neuheisel this season. And it'd add more color to the coaching ranks in the conference. A win-win for Arizona, the Pac-12, and college football, because Mike Leach deserves to be on the sidelines.
For more on the Arizona football coaching search, go to Arizona Desert Swarm.