Arizona has not played a game yet in Brent Brennan’s second year leading the program, but he can sense a change for the better because of his restructured coaching staff, steadfast commitment from his players and no longer needing to be “kissing everyone’s ass, asking them to stay,” he said Wednesday on ESPNU during Big 12 Media Days at Frisco, Texas.
“I think it starts with the decision we made with the coaching staff,” Brennan said at a different time at the podium. “Our new defensive coordinator, Danny Gonzales, I’m really excited about his process with our team so far. I’m excited about Seth Doege and our offense.
“Just kind of the aggressive, explosive offense that we want to play at the U of A. And then I’m also excited about (new special teams coordinator) Craig Naivar and what he’s doing with our kicking game. I think it starts with them.”
Then comes the players, led by captain Noah Fifita.
“I also think about Noah Fifita being a year older, a year more mature,” Brennan continued. “I think the consistency of our coaching staff, our leadership and the team knowing what my expectations are and how we’re going to do things going forward. I think it’s a lot cleaner right now than it was a year ago.
“I’m optimistic about how this season’s going to go.”
.@MackenzieHamil8 checking in with Coach B during @Big12Conference media day! pic.twitter.com/82Hs5U6YIq
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) July 9, 2025
At this time last year, Brennan had not coached a game yet with the Wildcats, but he was concerned, although many players returned from Jedd Fisch’s team that went 10-3 with a win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.
The transition of coaching Fisch’s players after Fisch left to Washington with limited time to bring in many of his own players created an uneasy feeling.
“I think it’s night and day,” Brennan said on ESPNU about this year vs. last year at the same time. “I mean, one of the challenges we first got there is the (transfer) portal created by Jedd’s departure. So you have, like, a 30-day portal there, then you’re getting ready for spring practice, then you got another portal at the end of spring practice.
“And so I felt like we spent the first six months on the job, like kissing everyone’s ass, asking them to stay. It was just a horrible foundation for what we’re trying to get done there. The second year, we just feel much more stable in it. I think because of that, like a lot of the players have chosen to stay, our retention has been high, and then also, the acquisition of new talent has been really positive. So we’re in a great spot.”
Arizona finished 4-8 under Brennan last season, after the program went 10-3 with a win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. Some of their top players, including Noah Fifita, Tetairoa McMillan, Gunner Maldonado and Jacob Manu, returned despite Fisch’s departure.
Maldonado is now gone to Kansas State and Manu left to rejoin Fisch at Washington. They were with McMillan and Fifita at last year’s Big 12 Media Days at Las Vegas.
“(We are) building the culture, building the mentality and belief,” Fifita said. “Everybody in the locker room right now is Coach Brennan’s guy. We either stayed for Coach Brennan or we came here for Coach Brennan.
“So we have a we have an unwavering belief in him. We have an unwavering belief in our coordinators, that they can lead us to where we want to get to, and that’s a Big 12 championship.”
Veteran safeties Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith tested the transfer portable after last season but both decided to stick with Brennan and the program.
“I’d say just a brotherhood we have going on,” Smith said when asked by ESPN why he returned. “It’s been the same since we got here. We never wavered through the wins or losses. It’s all been the same, the same love, the same attention to detail daily.
“I’m just here running back with my brothers, trying to recreate that winning season again.”
Brennan added that he wants players who are “tough and believe in this program and really, truly want to be here.”
Brennan was asked while at the podium about Fifita making strides this season after taking a “big step back” last year in addition to losing top target McMillan, a first-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers.
Fifita went from completing 241 of 333 pass attempts for 2,869 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2023 to a 260-of-430 mark for 2,958 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year.
“I think the the step back for Noah Fifita is my fault, not his,” Brennan said. “We didn’t do a good enough job running the football, and we didn’t do a good enough job protecting him. We’ve made some moves in the direction of making that better right now.
“I think when we get to December, everybody in the conference and maybe everybody in America is going to be talking about Noah Fifita. When you watch how he delivers the football, he’s one of the cleanest throwers I’ve ever seen. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do in Seth Doege’s offense. This is a perfect fit for him and it’s his time to shine. T-Mac or not, we love T-Mac. T-Mac’s going to crush it in the NFL. We put enough wideouts in that room. We put enough skill positions around him in an offensive front. You’re going to love what you see from Noah.”
Arizona ranked No. 120 out of 134 teams, averaging 98.4 rushing yards per game. In 2023, the Wildcats rushed for 135.8 yards per game, 84th in the nation.
With Doege as Marshall’s offensive coordinator last year, the Thundering Herd finished 20th nationally at 197.3 rushing yards a game.
The running attack intrigued Brennan because of Doege’s “Air Raid Offense” background with Texas Tech.
“When we started talking about what we were trying to build at Arizona, I thought it was interesting to hear an Air Raid guy talk about, ‘Hey, last year at Marshall, we found some real success running the ball,'” Brennan said. “I had never heard an Air Raid guy talk that way. … How do you win games late in the season? You’ve got to be able to run the football.
“Talking to Doege and talking about the championship run they went on last year at Marshall, his ability or his willingness to adapt the scheme to fit the personnel is what really solidified it for me.”
In addition to Gonzales taking over for Duane Akina, who returned to Texas, Arizona legend Joe Salave’a returned to coach the defensive line after Brennan did not retain Joe Seumalo, who was with him at San Jose State and is now a volunteer coach at Pittsburgh (his son Isaac is a guard with the Pittsburgh Steelers).
Gonzales, who coached the linebackers and special teams last year, was replaced as the linebackers coach by Josh Bringuel (who was on the staffs at Florida State and Nebraska the last two seasons).
Arizona’s season opener is in only 52 days, Aug. 30, at home against Hawaii. Fall camp starts in three to four weeks.
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