For Arizona, Sumlin is an A hire in the short term.
Yes Sumlin and his A&M staff were an emotional bunch, effectively the Steelers of the SEC where his talented rosters played at a high-risk, high-reward basis. This is why roster turnover was high and explains the fast starts and slow finishes. How many times did it seem A&M would start 6-0 only to finish 8-5?
To bigger names like SC or Penn St these are turnoffs during a coaching search, but for Arizona these are merely cautions which pale in comparison to the total package Sumlin brings when it comes to recruiting, keeping the current DC who he's worked with before, improving attendance, giving a strong public face and force of personality to the program, presumably keeping UA in the division race, and finally addressing the defensive side of the ball.
Not to mention what Arizona avoids in hiring Sumlin: No triple option, no old guy riding out his career, no coaching experiments.