Chuck Cecil must have been channeling his inner Ric Flair.
The Arizona Wildcats' senior defensive assistant was so fired up Saturday before the team faced rival Arizona State that defensive back Owen Goss put his helmet on during a wild pregame moment. gave him a headbutt.
A Fox broadcast that captured the first exchange panned to Cecil, 60, on the sideline wearing an Arizona ball cap and bleeding from his forehead.
“Good luck Chuck,” the commentator says, adding as the camera shows Cecil bleeding, “and here's the end result.”
Cecil's efforts to cheer up Arizona were fruitless, and the Wildcats lost 49-7 to the Sun Devils in the Territorial Cup.
Arizona led 35-0 at halftime.
Wildcats coach Brent Brennan said after the game, “What this game means to everyone here, everyone in this town, everyone in this state. Our lack of productivity today has taken a toll on the soul. It’s devastating,” he said. According to Arizona Desert Group.
Arizona State won and advanced to the Big 12 Championship.
Cecil served as the safeties coach at the University of Arizona from 2021 to 2023 and previously played at the school in the 1980s before being selected by the Packers in the fourth round of the 1988 NFL Draft.
Cecil's NFL career lasted from 1988 to 1995, and he was also selected to the Pro Bowl in 1992 while playing in Green Bay.
Cecil, the 1987 National Player of the Year and Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, had his No. 6 jersey retired at Arizona.
He previously coached with the Titans in various roles, including defensive coordinator.
He also served as the Rams' second coach before rejoining Arizona in 2018.
