MikeDunlap Posts -- FanHouse

Who Is New Would-Be Arizona Wildcats Head Coach Mike Dunlap?

With the news that Lute Olson is supposedly stepping down as head coach at Arizona, associate coach Mike Dunlap would now take over a program that has the longest current streak of NCAA Tournament appearances.

But who is Dunlap?

Dunlap became an assistant to Lute Olson back in May after an ugly breakup with 2007-2008 interim coach Kevin O'Neill. Dunlap spent the last two seasons as an assistant for the Denver Nuggets. Before that, he was the head coach at Metro State College in Denver for nine seasons, leading them to a 248-50 record and two NCAA Division II championships.

Dunlap was a candidate for the head jobs at California, Oregon State and the NBA's Chicago Bulls when the Wildcats came calling. It had been rumored that he was promised to succeed Olson at Arizona, though neither Olson or Dunlap would confirm that.

That may be a bit premature. There have been rumblings that the school will do a full search for a new head coach. And, yes, Bobby Knight's name has been thrown out there among fans.

Lute Olson Reportedly Stepping Down as Arizona Head Coach Due to Health Issues

ESPN's Dick Vitale is reporting that Arizona Wildcats' head coach Lute Olson is stepping down. This comes a day after he uncharacteristically missed an appearance at a Rotary Club of Tucson luncheon due to laryngitis. Olson's likely replacement as head coach, Mike Dunlap, took over at the luncheon.

It isn't yet known why Olson is abruptly retiring, though the speculation is his health (UPDATE: Vitale is reporting this on ESPNews, though he said that they may not be the reason given to the public during an upcoming news conference).

Still, it comes as a shock as just last week, Olson told the Arizona Republic that he was excited about the upcoming season.

Olson took a leave of absence for the entire 2007-2008 season to deal with an illness and family matters (he filed for divorce from his second wife a month after taking the leave). Kevin O'Neill took over as the interim coach and led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament. Olson came back to his post in the spring and promptly dumped O'Neill.