Sumlin is now 9-20 after three seasons as Arizona’s head coach. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin could be fired after blowout rivalry loss?

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 12/11/20

It wasn’t that long ago that Kevin Sumlin was one of the hotter names on the coaching market in college football. Now, it sounds like he could be about to lose his job.

Sumlin’s Arizona Wildcats suffered a horrendous 70-7 loss to rival Arizona State on Friday in the Territorial Cup. The defeat dropped the Wildcats to 0-5 on the season. Sumlin, meanwhile, is now 9-20 after three seasons as Arizona’s head coach.

Sumlin’s seat was already heating up, but the blowout loss in a rivalry game only increased the noise. SI’s Pat Forde said after the game that the Arizona coach is “running out of rope.”

This was the case before the Territorial Cup bloodbath, but all the more now: Kevin Sumlin is running out of rope in Tucson. Stay tuned.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) December 12, 2020

One thing working in Sumlin’s favor is the payoff that would be required if Arizona were to fire him. The Wildcats would owe Sumlin $7.5 million, a hefty sum for a school that has had revenue struggles during the pandemic.

In spite of the significant cost, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg suggested it was “hard to see how (Arizona) can go forward with this trajectory.”

Sumlin’s tenure didn’t get off to the best start and then kept getting worse. If he’s still employed by the end of the day Monday, the money tied up in him is probably the only reason why.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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