If Arizona isn’t working on a contract to sign Brent Brennan as its next coach, I’m not sure who they are looking for. They need to say he’s the next coach to lead the program.
And they need to do it ASAP. Hell, hire him now.
Of course, the timing is wrong, considering that Brennan has his San Jose State Spartans set for a trip to Tucson to face Ball State in the Arizona Bowl late next week. But, how appropriate? He’ll be in Arizona Stadium playing for a victory, with fans able to dream of many more with him on the sideline.
Welcome home. Well, at least welcome back, given that he was a graduate assistant here in 2000 under the late Dick Tomey.
“I was working with a really good staff and a lot of good people,” Brennan said when I asked about memories of coaching in Tucson 20 years ago. “It was a good time. … There were some crazy moments, we had some crazy, hard-fought games. What it did was set me on this career path with Coach Tomey and that staff.”
After that season, Tomey was let go and Brennan joined former Arizona defensive coordinator Rich Ellerson at Cal Poly. He later rejoined Tomey at … San Jose State.
If Dave Heeke was sincere — and I believe he was — in saying the next coach must have this, this and that (affable, community oriented, committed to the history and be good) to be THE guy, Brennan is all that and more.
And this is not to diminish all the others who have been interviewed or mentioned or absolutely want this job, but Brennan checks every box.
Boy, was he impressive in his first conversation with the local media in talking about his team’s participation in the Arizona Bowl on Dec. 31. For Arizona, 2021 can’t get here soon enough.
Brennan has to be the next guy; just has to be. He is about wisdom and wit.
He’s the Fred Rogers of College Football. Put him in a red sweater — with some blue and white trim — and what local business or UA fan wouldn’t love the guy? Bring him to your neighborhood for an ice cream social.
He’d be shaking hands (well, fist bumping) locals and kissing babies (through a mask).
Get in line to ask him to be at your next Rotary meeting; you know he’ll offer a few words of wisdom. He’s everyone’s common guy — in a good way.
Yes, he was that good on the Zoom call.
Now I know why his players loved playing for him. He’s sincere and comforting — a player’s coach.
And it’s not just that he said all the right things. He did it with a common man’s delivery and an aw-shucks style that makes him the ideal for the job.
Mayberry, meet your new mayor.
If you’re worried about winning given his record (15-29) and his one-hit wonder at San Jose State this year, hell, YOU try winning at San Jose State. It’s a job you go to where you’ll likely to get fired. Now, in four years he has the team undefeated and winners of the Mountain West Conference.
I’ve said for the past week that if you can win at San Jose State you can win anywhere. And as it stands now — and what the Arizona has become over the last few years — Arizona is anywhere when it comes to college football.
Of course, he won’t talk about the job. He was asked about it on the call, of course, answering by holding up a sign that read: “Stop, I’m climbing the mountain!!!!!”
“Anytime you win, there’s going to be those questions,” he said. “Those things are going to come up. “People in the athletics world, in the media world, all want to try and find something to talk about. …
“When those conversations start, it’s really a reflection of what’s happening here at San Jose State; it’s a reflection of what’s happening with the players and what this team has accomplished, which has just been, in my opinion, nothing short of exceptional. So, it’s pretty cool to be a part of that and to see this team come as far as we have.”
Now, just get them through the Arizona Bowl and then start a new chapter at Arizona. Let’s see if the Arizona decision-makers can make that happen.
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