ARIZONA FOOTBALL

Rich Rod’s band of BCS brothers

Jan 11, 2012, 7:12 PM | Updated: 9:04 pm

Rich Rodriguez is getting the band back together. Although
none of the band members play an instrument, they are
adept at building average college football programs into
contenders. They are coaches that blow whistles instead of
trumpets and scream instructions instead of lyrics. They
are a band of coaching brothers that have produced gold
records in college football.

This is not good news for Todd Graham and Sun Devil fans.

Wednesday in Tucson, the U of A will announce Jeff Casteel
as
their new defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
Casteel worked with Rich Rod at West Virginia University
when WVU was a perennial power. Casteel will bring his
trademark 3-3-5 “Stack” defense with him, a defense
designed to repeal Rich Rod’s high-powered offense…and
others that mimic Rich Rod’s high-powered offense.

But that isn’t all that Jeff Casteel and Rich Rod are
bringing to the desert. Apparently, three other defensive
assistant coaches are coming with Casteel. David Lockwood,
Spencer Leftwich and Bill Kirelawich are coming with
Casteel, leaving West Virginia University, a program that
just won ten-games and an Orange Bowl.

Bill Kirelawich (Ker-LAV-ich) has been a coach at West
Virginia University for 31 years. Kerlav is a legendary
defensive line coach that is revered in coaching circles.
He brings a fire and form of free speech that would make
most truck drivers blush. He is greatly respected by his
peers and has worked with Casteel and Rich Rod from the
beginning. This guy is one of the best position coaches in
all of college football…and he’s headed to Tucson.

But that’s old news in Old Pueblo. Rich Rod’s staff
includes no less than eight assistants from his tenure as
West
Virginia’s head coach. These coaches did a lot of damage
in the soft Big East Conference and turned West Virginia
into a perennial BCS bowl contender.

Something the Sun Devils are trying to do congruent to the
Wildcats.

The football program at the U of A has wallowed in
mediocrity and that’s about to change – just like it did
when Rich Rod replaced Don Nehlen at West Virginia.

At the height of Rodriguez’s success, he won four Big East
championships in five years, a boatload of games, went to
two
BCS bowls (Bill Stewart was the interim head coach when
West Virginia beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl) and
brought the program to the brink of competing for a
national championship.

And many of the coaches now headed to Tucson were standing
on the sideline with him. Calvin Magee, Rod Smith, Tony
Dews, Jeff Casteel, Bill Kirelawich and more were part of
the WVU’s restoration.

Rich Rod didn’t have that in Ann Arbor. He didn’t have the
band that had helped him and served him so well in
Morgantown. Rich Rod was coaching coaches on his
particular brand of football…and trying to win games in
the Big Ten. The results were underwhelming to say the
least. He was Axl Rose’s version of Guns & Roses without
Slash, Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan.

Axl is talking about getting Guns & Roses back together
for a reunion tour. Rich Rod isn’t talking about it; he’s
done it. The band is back together. Whether or not they
can turn Tucson into Paradise City remains to be seen, but
the ante has been upped significantly in Tempe.

Welcome to the jungle.

Arizona Football

Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan #4 of the Arizona Wildcats celebrates with Noah Fifita #11 after ca...

Arizona Sports

ESPN’s Rittenberg: Arizona Wildcats’ QB room ranks 10th in nation

Led by the final Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Noah Fifita, the Arizona Wildcats' quarterback room was ranked 10th in the nation.

11 days ago

Grand Canyon forward Duke Brennan...

Vincent DeAngelis

Duke Brennan uses inspiration from family and high motor to propel GCU basketball

Grand Canyon's Duke Brennan has strong Arizona connections and comes from a family of athletes in Colt and Brent Brennan.

19 days ago

Jordan Morgan...

Arizona Sports

Arizona OL, potential 1st-round pick Jordan Morgan shows off speed at NFL Draft Combine

Arizona left tackle Jordan Morgan had the opportunity to show off his speed and athleticism at the NFL Combine on Sunday.

24 days ago

Jacob Cowing...

Arizona Sports

Arizona’s Jacob Cowing shows off elite speed at NFL Scouting Combine

NFL Draft prospect Jacob Cowing from Arizona put up one of the fastest 40-yard dash times among wide receivers at the combine.

25 days ago

An empty podium is seen at the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by...

David Veenstra

What to watch for: 2024 NFL Scouting Combine schedule, preview and more

The NFL Scouting Combine begins this week in Indianapolis. Here's a complete guide for college and professional fans across Arizona.

30 days ago

Quarterback Jayden de Laura #7 prepares for a game at Arizona Stadium on October 28, 2023 in Tucson...

Tom Kuebel

Former Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura declares for NFL Draft

Jayden de Laura declared for the NFL Draft and will forego his fifth season of college football eligibility.

1 month ago

Rich Rod’s band of BCS brothers