Wondering what would have happened if Don Coryell had said yes to Arizona
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010As Arizona football fans know, the Wildcats are working on a couple of negative streaks.
There is the one about never having been to the Rose Bowl. And there’s the one about not producing an NFL quarterback during the entire length of the school’s existence in the Pac-10, starting in 1978.
In fact — let us repeat, just for the record — the last Arizona quarterback to throw a pass in an NFL game was Bill Demory in 1973, when he was subbing for injured Joe Namath with the New York Jets.
It all makes you wonder what would happened if the Wildcats had hired the man who would later be called the father of the modern passing game.
Just think: If the Wildcats had hired Don Coryell, would Arizona have become known as a passing school?
This story goes back to 1967, when athletic director Dick Clausen was looking to replace football coach Jim Larue. Clausen offered the job to Coryell, then the head coach at San Diego State.
