Longtime football coach and former Arizona defensive assistant John Rushing has died at the age of 48. The Merced, California native spent nearly the last 25 years in coaching with stops at various college programs plus a stint in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams from 2009-2016.
Rushing led the Wildcats' safety group upon his arrival to the program in 2018 before moving to a new position in 2019 as he took over the team's linebacker unit. He eventually was one of the coaches let go by the program last fall as head coach Kevin Sumlin moved in a new direction defensively.
"John was a tremendous husband, father, friend, mentor and coach who was committed to making a positive impact on the many lives he touched," Arizona's football staff said in a statement released by the program Friday. "His passion for life will be one of the many memories that we will all hold on to and keep in remembrance."
Rushing made a number of stops along the way with Boise State, Utah State, Montana State and Oregon State being some of the other FBS programs he worked for during his career. His journey into coaching started at Merced Union High School before he moved on to Willamette University in Oregon in 1996 to begin his college coaching career.
Rushing started for four seasons at Washington State under head coach Mike Price in the early 1990s and was part of the "Palouse Posse" defense for the Cougars. He then went on to a short career in the NFL and Canadian Football League.
Although his time with the Wildcats was only a brief part of his career, Rushing certainly was around long enough to make a lasting impact with several UA players. Many of the current and former members of the team have already taken to social media to express their condolences for the one-time Arizona assistant.
"Rest In Peace Coach Rushing," tweeted former Arizona linebacker Tony Fields II who is now at West Virginia. "Thank you for everything you taught me. My prayers to his family!"
Fellow former Arizona linebacker Colin Schooler echoed the words of his former teammate.
"RIP Coach John Rushing," Schooler tweeted Friday afternoon. "I enjoyed our time together. prayers for his family."
Current Arizona defensive backs coach Greg Burns was not yet on staff with the Wildcats when Rushing was let go, but he played in the same secondary as Rushing while they were at Washington State so there is certainly a connection between the two coaches.
"The Palouse Posse lost a great one today," Burns tweeted Friday. "R I P #10 - J Rush. ‘Young And The Restless’ 4Life"
The longtime football coach is survived by his wife, Angela, and five children. As of now a cause of death is unknown.
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