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Hollywood, Calif.

The landscape of the Pac-12 South shifted in 2012, when three new football coaches arrived and immediately improved their programs in the second season of the expanded conference.

Arizona's Rich Rodriguez, Arizona State's Todd Graham and UCLA's Jim Mora accelerated past Utah's Kyle Whittingham in the South as the Utes struggled to establish themselves. Those other coaches each won a South championship within three years on the job.

Utah is the only South school that has failed to claim a division title. But who would you rather be right now? Whittingham is comfortably positioned, while Rodriguez, Graham and Mora are in danger of losing their jobs in 2017. Athlon Sports ranked them in the top seven nationally among coaches on the hot seat, which would have been inconceivable in the middle of this decade.

That status illustrates the nature of the coaching profession and the depth of the Pac-12. Those programs have regressed to a stunning degree instead of permanently overtaking Utah. They combined for a 5-22 conference record last season, while Colorado went from worst to first in the division and USC and Utah contended for the title deep into November. The Trojans and Utes are picked to finish 1-2 in the South this season in the conference's media poll.

During this week's Pac-12 Football Media Days, Rodriguez described the coming season as "kind of a reboot" for Arizona, which he knows sounds weird in his sixth year. Mora spoke of an offseason when "you just pull it all apart" in a self-study process. Graham said the Sun Devils lost their identity of "playing hard-core, disciplined football."

And they had better rediscover it quickly. Before Colorado's rise, the level of competition in the South dictated that a decent team would place fifth every year. The reality now is that a recently successful program is going to finish last.

Amid their November failures, the Utes have been consistent lately. Utah, Stanford and USC are the Pac-12's only schools with winning records in conference play each of the past three seasons. The declines of Arizona and Arizona State began in 2015, and UCLA joined them last year, when quarterback Josh Rosen's shoulder injury was an insufficient explanation for the Bruins' downturn. After all, the Bruins scored 45 points in a loss to Utah during their 4-8 season.

"You're not in this to do anything but try to have success. And every loss rips your guts out," Mora said. "I think you make a huge mistake if you make excuses or scoop it under the rug. … You have to look at everything you do, the way you meet, the way you practice, to your schemes, to how you coach, to the words you use, the culture in the building, how you let them recover. And you just pull it all apart."

Same story at Arizona, where the Wildcats beat only ASU in conference play last year.

"I don't think you should bury your head in the sand and kind of pretend it wasn't there. It was there," Rodriguez said. "I think you've got to address every reason why and make sure it doesn't happen again. I think our staff has done a good job of that. Our players have done a phenomenal job of that so far."

Graham, whose team already is practicing, likes the Sun Devils' "edge" as he tries to restore toughness to the program. He also hired veteran defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, while accusing himself and his staff of not adjusting when opponents caught on to his aggressive scheme.

"We really had a unique system, then people start studying what you're doing and you have to constantly evolve," Graham said. "Because what happens is each year the players change. Boy, it's hard to change something you've been successful with. … And I think that's probably one of the most critical things in a highly competitive league with a lot of parity. You've got to adapt and evolve."

That's true, just to survive in the South.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribkurt —

New coach

Here's how Utah's record in Pac-12 football games compares with Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA since 2012, when those schools hired new coaches:

Arizona Arizona St. UCLA Utah

2012 4-5 5-4 6-3 3-6

2013 4-5 8-1 6-3 2-7

2014 7-2 6-3 6-3 5-4

2015 3-6 4-5 5-4 6-3

2016 1-8 2-7 2-7 5-4

Total 9-26 25-20 25-20 21-24