Arizona Fires Head Coach Mike Stoops

University of Arizona officials announced Monday night that they have fired head football coach Mike Stoops after seven-and-a-half years at the helm in Tucson.

The Wildcats are off to a 1-5 start this year, with their lone win coming against FCS Northern Arizona. Dating back to last season, Arizona has lost 10 straight games to FBS teams by an average of almost 17 points per game.

Stoops, who was hired by the Wildcats in November 2003, took over a program that hadn’t posted a winning season since 1998. Although it took him several years to build the program, he led Arizona to three consecutive bowl games (2008-2010) for just the second time in school history. Stoops finished 41-50 during his time as head coach, including 27-38 in conference games.

Arizona will owe Stoops a $1.4 million buyout. Defensive coordinator Tim Kish will serve as interim coach for the rest of this season. The Wildcats’ next game is a Thursday night matchup against UCLA on October 20.

[ESPN]