Arizona Football Top Five All-Time Coaches

Throughout its history, Arizona football has seen many ups and downs with the program making 22 bowl games and recording four 10-win seasons. In 1998, the Wildcats finished with a school-record 12 wins capped off with a 23-20 win over Nebraska.

As the program gears up for its 122nd season with head coach Brent Brennan entering his second season at the helm, we will be ranking the top five players at each position to get you ready for the 2025 season.

We’ve gone through every position and broken down the greatest Wildcat players of all time. Now, we will be taking a look at the five greatest coaches in program history that have helped shape and molded UA football over the years.

5. Rich Rodriguez (2012-17)

When first arriving in Tucson, coach Rich Rodriguez was taking over a program that was coming off an underwhelming 2011 season where the Wildcats went 4-8 year where then-head coach Mike Stoops was dismissed after starting off 1-5 despite a roster that featured quarterback Nick Foles leading the charge.

In his first season at Arizona, Rodriguez was able to build an offensive powerhouse that used the trio of quarterback Matt Scott, receiver Austin Hill and running back Ka’Deem Carey as the workhorses of the unit.

The Wildcats would upset No.18 Oklahoma State 59-38, which would help fuel an 8-5 season capped off by a win in the New Mexico Bowl over Nevada.

One could argue that the Rodriguez era was the most successful six years of Arizona football with the team going to five bowl games in six seasons. His only losing year came in 2016 with the WIldcats finishing 3-9 with issues at quarterback.

The best season under Rodriguez came in 2014 when the Wildcats went 10-4 winning the Pac-12 South and seeing their season come to an end with a close 38-30 loss to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

4. Pop McKale (1914-30)

Many know the name Pop McKale and automatically think of basketball given the name of the Wildcats’ arena is McKale Center. However, outside of being a basketball coach, McKale was a winning football coach that led UA to a record of 80-32 giving him the third best winning percentage in program history.

Although Arizona’s first official bowl game came in 1949 in the Salad Bowl, the Wildcats did play a postseason game under McKale in the San Diego East-West Christmas Classic where UA fell 38-0 to Centre Praying Colonels during the 1921 season.

Still, McKale is a figure of Arizona athletics as a whole and was a highly successful football coach, who helped pave the way for head coaches that followed.

3. Jim Young (1973-76)

One of the coaches that was able to set the tone for Arizona football in the modern era of college football was head coach Jim Young, who spent four seasons as the man at the helm while going 31-13 but failed to get a bowl berth in an era where making a bowl game was difficult.

In the Young era, Arizona’s best finish was 1975 where the team finished 9-2 and No. 11 in the AP Poll. However, a narrow 24-21 last second loss to No. 8 ASU kept the team from making a bowl game out of the Western Athletic Conference.

2. Larry Smith (1980-86)

After seeing the program get into NCAA problems under former coach Tony Mason, Arizona needed to rebuild and head coach Larry Smith was the man picked for the job.

In his seven seasons as Arizona head coach, Smith went an impressive 48-28 putting UA football back on the map as the program found its footing in the Pac-10.

While under Smith, Arizona went to two bowl games during the 1985 and 1986 seasons despite having six winning seasons.

It was in the Smith era that Arizona kicked off ‘The Streak’ against in-state rival ASU starting with the 1982 win over the sixth ranked Sun Devils 28-18, which kept them out of the Rose Bowl.

The win that helped Smith lay the foundation for his program was in 1981 when the WIldcats upset No. 1 USC 13-10 on the road marking the first win over the nation’s top ranked team in program history.

In that era, Smith coached two future College Football Hall of Fame players in linebacker Ricky Hunley and safety Chuck Cecil.

Smith would leave Arizona for USC but after his coaching career, he came back to Tucson making the city his final home before passing away in 2008.

1. Dick Tomey (1987-2000)

The greatest coach in Arizona football history isn’t even a debate, it goes to the man that had two of the program’s 10-plus win seasons and the greatest season of all-time in 1998 when the Wildcats finished 12-1 and ended the year No. 4 in the final AP Poll following a 23-20 win over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.

Who is that coach?

Well, none other than Dick Tomey, who ended his Arizona career with the most wins in program history as a head coach going 95-64 during his time at the helm.

The 90s were the golden era of Arizona football and Tomey was the mastermind behind the success and helped build one of the most feared defenses in college football history along with defensive coaches Rich Ellerson and LArry MacDuff called ‘Desert Swarm,’ which had their shining moment in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl smacking Miami 29-0 capping off a 10-2 season.

The list of legends Tomey coached are endless from both the defensive side of the ball and on offense.

However, the biggest thing he left behind was turning the program into a defensive school known for its gritty style of play and underdog mentality.