The Arizona Wildcats' newest assistant coach is a familiar face.
Robert Anae, who coached the UA's revamped offensive line to a surprisingly positive performance and re-established recruiting inroads in Hawaii and American Samoa in 2011, was retained Friday by new coach Rich Rodriguez.
He is the fifth assistant coach and fourth offensive aide hired this week. Offensive coordinator/running backs coach Calvin Magee, co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Rod Smith, wide receivers coach Tony Dews and secondary coach Tony Gibson were hired earlier this week. All four worked with Rodriguez at West Virginia and Michigan.
Anae, who is the first Mike Stoops assistant kept by the new regime, said Friday that he's "thrilled to be back and eager to join Coach Rodriguez and the rest of his staff in shaping a new direction for Arizona football."
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"We have a great opportunity to be a fine team," Anae said. "I'm ready to bear down with Rich's staff."
Anae, 53, was credited with developing an inexperienced offensive line into one of the Wildcats' strengths in 2011. Center Kyle Quinn was one of the team's most outspoken leaders, and tackles Mickey Baucus and Fabbians Ebbele project as NFL draft picks.
Well-connected and savvy, Anae is the proven West Coast recruiter that Rodriguez - and to a lesser extent, Arizona fans - wanted on the Wildcats' coaching staff. The Honolulu native is the program's lead recruiter in Hawaii and American Samoa and was instrumental in luring recruits Beau Boyster and Zach Hemmila from California and Phoenix.
Both offensive linemen are expected to follow through on their verbal commitments to the Wildcats despite the head coaching change.
Anae joined Arizona's staff last spring after spending six seasons (2005-10) as the offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach at BYU; before that, he spent five years (2000-04) coaching the offensive line at Texas Tech. Anae is an 18-year coaching veteran who started his career as a graduate assistant at Hawaii in 1986; the Rainbows' head coach at the time, Dick Tomey, moved on to Arizona after Anae's first season.
Rodriguez said he was pleased to retain Anae, who is the first-ever UA football coach to own a doctoral degree.
"He has a wealth of knowledge and expertise to add to our offensive package and is a great fit for our program," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez expects to fill his coaching staff by the end of next week. He must still hire a defensive coordinator, linebackers coach, defensive line coach, special teams coach and strength coach.
Tim Kish, who served as Arizona's interim coach for the final six games, is expected to be considered for one of the vacancies.
