“While this is a difficult decision, it is the right decision,” they wrote. “And it is a decision that lives up to the core values of the University of Arizona.”

The UA is being sued in federal court by one of three victims of former running back Orlando Bradford. The victim says the university knew Bradford was a danger to women and failed to protect her. Bradford was recently sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to two felony counts of aggravated assault.

And in August, Rodriguez was sued in civil court by Creative Artist Agencies (CAA). The agency represented the coach until the fall of 2015, and claims Rodriguez owes $230,050 in past-due fees.

Rodriguez’s contract was set to run through May 31, 2020. His buyout as of Dec. 1 was $6,487,500, according to USA Today’s annual survey of NCAA football coaches’ salaries. Because he was let go before March 15, Rodriguez will miss out on approximately $3.2 million from a master-limited-partnership provision in his contract. That pay came via publicly traded units on the so-called “Longevity Fund.” Rodriguez was set to receive 25 percent of the value on March 15. If he had been terminated any time after that, he would have been entitled to the full value of the fund.

Rodriguez’s hiring on Nov. 23, 2011 was seen as a coup for the UA and newly hired athletic director Greg Byrne. 

Arizona won the Pac-12 South Division title and finished 10-4 in 2014, then started trending downward.

The Wildcats finished 7-6 the following season, most of which was played without star linebacker Scooby Wright. Sensing that recruiting was lagging and the defense wasn’t performing up to expectations, Rodriguez turned over Arizona’s defensive staff. He hired Boise State’s Marcel Yates as defensive coordinator and promoted Jahmile Addae and Vince Amey from analysts to full-time assistant coaches.

The injury issues worsened in 2016, when Arizona lost its top two quarterbacks and running backs at various points. After starting 2-1, Arizona lost eight in a row. Only a season-ending victory over rival Arizona State put a bandage on an otherwise painful season.

The Wildcats entered 2017 with the lowest of expectations outside the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, picked to finish last by the media in the Pac-12 South. An uneven 2-2 start only served to validate that prediction.

But in Game 5, sophomore quarterback Khalil Tate came off the bench and set a Football Bowl Subdivision record for quarterbacks with 327 rushing yards in a 45-42 win at Colorado. Tate would lead Arizona to four straight victories, winning an unprecedented four consecutive Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week awards.

The Wildcats secured bowl eligibility with a 58-37 win over Washington State on Oct. 28. They couldn’t follow up their perfect October, however, losing three of four games in November. Arizona finished the season with a 38-35 loss to Purdue in the Foster Farms Bowl.

The emergence of Tate and several freshmen on defense, including Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Colin Schooler, gave hope for bigger and better things to come in 2018. It also offered proof that the changes Rodriguez had made to the defensive staff were working, even if the immediate on-field results didn’t show it.

Heeke said Arizona’s next head coach will “will build a solid foundation for our program and create an identity of Arizona football that the University, Tucson and Southern Arizona communities can be proud of. We’re excited about the future of our football program, and we look forward to introducing our new head coach at the completion of the search process.”

Several current and recently employed coaches would be logical candidates to succeed Rodriguez. Boise State’s Bryan Harsin, Memphis’ Mike Norvell, Utah State’s Matt Wells and Syracuse’s Dino Babers, who was an assistant at Arizona from 1995-2000, will certainly be mentioned as potential replacements. Possible candidates who were recently let go but are still highly respected within the industry include Kevin Sumlin, Mark Helfrich, Butch Jones and Todd Graham. Jones was the coach at Central Michigan under Heeke from 2007-09.

Yates, who joined the staff in January 2016, will serve as the interim head coach.

It is unclear what will happen with the signing class of 16 players that Arizona announced last month. The NCAA instituted an early signing period for the first time this past December. It is possible those prospects could be let out of their national letters of intent (NLIs) if they no longer wish to attend Arizona. The NLI program controls the release process.

“While this is a difficult decision, it is the right decision,” they wrote. “And it is a decision that lives up to the core values of the University of Arizona.”

The UA is being sued in federal court by one of three victims of former running back Orlando Bradford. The victim says the university knew Bradford was a danger to women and failed to protect her. Bradford was recently sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to two felony counts of aggravated assault.

And in August, Rodriguez was sued in civil court by Creative Artist Agencies (CAA). The agency represented the coach until the fall of 2015, and claims Rodriguez owes $230,050 in past-due fees.

Rodriguez’s contract was set to run through May 31, 2020. His buyout as of Dec. 1 was $6,487,500, according to USA Today’s annual survey of NCAA football coaches’ salaries. Because he was let go before March 15, Rodriguez will miss out on approximately $3.2 million from a master-limited-partnership provision in his contract. That pay came via publicly traded units on the so-called “Longevity Fund.” Rodriguez was set to receive 25 percent of the value on March 15. If he had been terminated any time after that, he would have been entitled to the full value of the fund.

Rodriguez’s hiring on Nov. 23, 2011 was seen as a coup for the UA and newly hired athletic director Greg Byrne. 

Arizona won the Pac-12 South Division title and finished 10-4 in 2014, then started trending downward.

The Wildcats finished 7-6 the following season, most of which was played without star linebacker Scooby Wright. Sensing that recruiting was lagging and the defense wasn’t performing up to expectations, Rodriguez turned over Arizona’s defensive staff. He hired Boise State’s Marcel Yates as defensive coordinator and promoted Jahmile Addae and Vince Amey from analysts to full-time assistant coaches.

The injury issues worsened in 2016, when Arizona lost its top two quarterbacks and running backs at various points. After starting 2-1, Arizona lost eight in a row. Only a season-ending victory over rival Arizona State put a bandage on an otherwise painful season.

The Wildcats entered 2017 with the lowest of expectations outside the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, picked to finish last by the media in the Pac-12 South. An uneven 2-2 start only served to validate that prediction.

But in Game 5, sophomore quarterback Khalil Tate came off the bench and set a Football Bowl Subdivision record for quarterbacks with 327 rushing yards in a 45-42 win at Colorado. Tate would lead Arizona to four straight victories, winning an unprecedented four consecutive Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week awards.

The Wildcats secured bowl eligibility with a 58-37 win over Washington State on Oct. 28. They couldn’t follow up their perfect October, however, losing three of four games in November. Arizona finished the season with a 38-35 loss to Purdue in the Foster Farms Bowl.

The emergence of Tate and several freshmen on defense, including Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Colin Schooler, gave hope for bigger and better things to come in 2018. It also offered proof that the changes Rodriguez had made to the defensive staff were working, even if the immediate on-field results didn’t show it.

Heeke said Arizona’s next head coach will “will build a solid foundation for our program and create an identity of Arizona football that the University, Tucson and Southern Arizona communities can be proud of. We’re excited about the future of our football program, and we look forward to introducing our new head coach at the completion of the search process.”

Several current and recently employed coaches would be logical candidates to succeed Rodriguez. Boise State’s Bryan Harsin, Memphis’ Mike Norvell, Utah State’s Matt Wells and Syracuse’s Dino Babers, who was an assistant at Arizona from 1995-2000, will certainly be mentioned as potential replacements. Possible candidates who were recently let go but are still highly respected within the industry include Kevin Sumlin, Mark Helfrich, Butch Jones and Todd Graham. Jones was the coach at Central Michigan under Heeke from 2007-09.

Yates, who joined the staff in January 2016, will serve as the interim head coach.

It is unclear what will happen with the signing class of 16 players that Arizona announced last month. The NCAA instituted an early signing period for the first time this past December. It is possible those prospects could be let out of their national letters of intent (NLIs) if they no longer wish to attend Arizona. The NLI program controls the release process.