Room 249-D at McKale Center has no windows and therefore no view, but for 30 years it has been home to three of the most visionary figures in UA history: football coaches Larry Smith and Dick Tomey, and Hall of Fame golf coach Rick LaRose.
Smith departed in 1986, Tomey left in 2000 and a few months ago LaRose took one last look at 249-D and shut out the lights.
Quietly, when McKale Center was all but deserted over the Fourth of July, 31-year-old Jim Anderson put a key in the door and took residence of the historic place.
“No one needs to tell me how much work I’ve got to do and no one’s going to outwork me,” he says now. “I’m not a guy who’s going to spend much time at a desk.”
Anderson is one of two new head coaches at Arizona in 2012-13; the other, Rich Rodriguez, pledges to change the culture of UA football. Anderson isn’t quite as dramatic.
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When he arrives at work via National Championship Drive, he can’t help but see the 1992 NCAA championship banner.
“The tradition here is powerful,” he says. “I get the message.”
Read more in Tuesday's Arizona Daily Star.
