‘It’s an elite job’: Arizona football DC Danny Gonzales believes in new, existing program pieces

The Arizona Wildcats football coaching staff will have a different look in 2025, especially with a change of scenery for newly appointed defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.

He spent last season as the linebackers and special teams coordinator under head coach Brent Brennan following a six-year stretch with three programs (San Diego State, Arizona State and New Mexico). So, an internal move for Gonzales may be a welcome one surrounded by a slew of fellow veteran coaches.

“Coach (Duane) Akina is the best secondary coach I’ve ever been around, and we’ve got an opportunity to do something special here,” Gonzales said in a Friday press conference. “With coach (Seth) Doege, coach Brennan and all the pieces we have on our staff and the players we brought in, we’re really excited to move forward and see what we can do here.”

Not only has the Wildcats’ staff seen a significant shift, but Gonzales will be tasked with reconstructing a defense that struggled mightily in 2024 under the oversight of Akina, who will now oversee the defensive linebackers room. Arizona gave up 31.8 points and 414.3 yards per game, both fourth-worst marks in the Big 12 Conference. The Wildcats, then led by Akina, were also not able to pressure opposing offenses in their first season in a new-look league, with the third-fewest interceptions (eight) and tied-for-second-fewest sacks (20) in 12 games.

And that was with the presence of linebacker Jacob Manu, starting cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Marquis Groves-Killebrew and safety Gunner Maldonado, all who entered the transfer portal. Arizona did not lose all of its defensive talent, however, as safeties Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith reversed course on portal entry and recommitted to Tucson.

Those decisions were not lost on Gonzales, who conceded both Johnson and Smith had tempting offers to play at other schools but ultimately are coming back to see their established work through to completion. The Wildcats, according to Gonzales, now have a chance to be elite because returners are not only providing their talent and experience but already are fluent in the program’s line of communication.

The revolving door, which also saw the addition of NCAA Division I leading tackler Blake Gotcher of Northwestern State, has not altered Gonzales’s intent.

“At San Diego State … we were predominantly a four-down front,” Gonzales said. “(It was the same as) a lot of what we did last year because those were our best players, and that will never change. We’ll go through our room, we’ll put our top 22 together and whoever our best players are, if we think we have four D-lineman we think are elite, then that’s what we’re going to major in. … A lot of stuff we did last year, we’ll fine tune by personnel, coverage-wise we’ll fine tune those things and put a product out there we think will be elite.”

Gonzales said it was really important that they added players in all three phases of their defensive scheme because of how deep the Big 12 is year over year. And stacking players at every level has been a necessity because of the lack of depth needing to be addressed, he added.

As of Saturday, the Wildcats’ defense has landed eight transfers alongside the two who decided to stay put. The total transfer portal restocking was at 23 players against 33 who are taking their game elsewhere.

A majority of those new faces either have one or two years of eligibility remaining, but Brennan said he is not concerned about building for the future.

“We’re recruiting for the 2025 football team,” Brennan said. “You’re trying to find the pieces that fit. Are they tough? Do they love football? Do they want to be here? Those things are critical for us.”

Brennan estimated the program has hosted 57 players, transfers or incoming high school recruits, since Dec. 9. With two-eight students coming to the Tucson campus seemingly every day, Brennan said it has been tough on the coaching staff to turn what he equated 24-hour speed dating into marriage.

“We’ve been super aggressive, and I think the staff has done an outstanding job and we’re not done,” Brennan added.

What identity will Danny Gonzales bring to the Wildcat defense?

Specifically on the defensive side of the ball, Gonzales said he is looking to create what defensive line coach and former Arizona great Joe Salave’a lovingly calls “trench monsters.”

TRENCH MONSTERS 💪 pic.twitter.com/ihdjQeLbuP

— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) January 10, 2025

What does that look like in practice? Well, Gonzales conducted a San Diego State defense that allowed the 11th-fewest yards per game (314.5) in 2017 before leading Arizona State to create 2.2 turnovers per game in 2019, which was second-best in the nation.

Gonzales had coached against Salave’a for years, an imposing NFL defensive lineman who has been in the collegiate coaching world since beginning with San Jose State in 2008. This time around, the once-adversaries in the Mountain West Conference are operating on the same page.

“Now, if you want to be a good coach, you get good players,” Gonzales said. “And if the talent is equal, that’s where you see the greatest impact. Having to coach against (Salave’a) and recruit against him, people in the Big 12 are in trouble.”

With Gonzales and Doege now firmly in head coordinator positions, Arizona football will seek to calm the remaining rough waters of the offseason before the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors come to Arizona Stadium on Aug. 30.

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