The Kevin Sumlin era at Arizona has come to an end.

The Wildcats officially announced Saturday that they have fired their head coach after he went 9-20 during his three seasons in Tucson. Sumlin's career at Arizona will end with one of the worst defeats in program history after UA lost to rival Arizona State, 70-7, Friday night in the 94th Territorial Cup matchup.

First-year defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads will serve as the team's interim coach heading into the final week of the season.

“When we hired Kevin three years ago, we had very high hopes for our football program," UA athletic director Dave Heeke said in a statement confirming the decision Saturday afternoon. "Unfortunately, we simply have not seen the results and upward trajectory in our program that we needed to, and I believe now is the time for a change in leadership. I thank Kevin for his service to the University of Arizona and wish him the very best in the future.

Our attention now turns to finding the next head coach at the University of Arizona, while we continue to support our student-athletes, who have sacrificed so much since returning to campus this summer. We will cast a wide net to identify and recruit a coach who shares our vision, our values and our passion for winning.”

Arizona says it will honor the terms of Sumlin's contract, which includes a roughly $7.5 million buyout for an early termination, with "funding from athletics generated revenue and sources."

His buyout was set to drop to around $5 million on Jan. 15.

Sumlin struggled to move the program forward upon his arrival from Texas A&M in 2018. The Wildcats were only able to muster a 6-17 Pac-12 record during his time as head coach and missed out on a bowl game in each of his first two seasons.

The attention will now turn to finding Sumlin's replacement less than three years after the Wildcats hired him to replace Rich Rodriguez.

RELATED: Arizona hot board 1.0 – Who replaces Kevin Sumlin in Tucson?

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