Report: Brent Brennan to remain as Arizona head football coach

Brent Brennan will reportedly remain as Arizona head football coach, continuing his tenure that began with the hope he could sustain the program’s success built by predecessor Jedd Fisch, who left the Wildcats for the Washington Huskies after a 10-win campaign in 2023.

Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star reported Brennan met with first-year athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois on Sunday and while Brennan will stay, other changes will be made within the program.

Brennan, 51, just completed the first year of a five-year contract. The deal pays a base rate starting at $2.7 million for 2024 and increases to $3.6 million by 2027.

After Fisch accepted the Washington job in mid-January of this year, it was a quick process for the Wildcats and then-athletic director Dave Heeke to recruit and hire Brennan.

A likely factor in the move to keep Brennan is the leadership at Arizona has changed amid findings about massive financial debt in both the athletic department and university at large.

The school fired Heeke less than a week after he helped introduce Brennan. Brennan was a candidate for the job back in 2020, when Arizona instead landed on hiring Fisch to replace Kevin Sumlin.

Brent Brennan staying put comes as an about-face for the Arizona Wildcats

Brennan’s hire was initially welcomed by Arizona fans.

He built quick faith when he retained a number of star players from the 2023 team’s 10-win season.

Among them were quarterback Noah Fifita, linebacker Jacob Manu and a trio of potential first-round NFL Draft picks: receiver Tetairoa McMillan, defensive back Tacario Davis and offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea.

The talent — at least through the first round of the depth chart — was there with the exception of offensive tackle Jordan Morgan and receiver Jacob Cowing departing for the NFL.

But things went off the rails quickly once Arizona hit the field as the 21st-ranked team, according to The Associated Press’ preseason poll. A sluggish first half against New Mexico in the opener followed by a 22-10 come-from-behind win against Northern Arizona in the first two weeks set the tone.

The Wildcats’ 31-7 road loss to the then-No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats confirmed progress hadn’t been made.

Arizona recovered to beat then-No. 10 Utah, 23-10, in the fourth week of the season — but it was an outlier rather than a turning point.

Brennan’s team went on to lose five straight, three of which came by deficits greater than three touchdowns.

After a victory over Houston to end the losing skid, Brennan’s Wildcats lost 49-28 at TCU and 49-7 against Arizona State in the two subsequent weeks to end Arizona’s season.

Dino Babers will not return as offensive coordinator

Arizona offensive coordinator Dino Babers will not return to Arizona next season, WildcatAuthority.com’s Jason Scheer first reported.

Babers, who was on a one-year deal, lost his playcalling duties following the team’s blowout loss to Kansas State on Sept. 13.

After he was hired in January, he spent the first three games of the year handling the Wildcats’ primary playcalling responsibilities before tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Matt Adkins stepped into the role during a bye week.

Babers, 63, was the previous head coach at Syracuse from 2016 until 2023 and had worked at Arizona under Tomey.

Babers served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 1998 to 2000 and also led wide receivers (1995-96) and running backs (1997). He and Brennan were both on the 2000 team’s coaching staff.

How Arizona landed with Brent Brennan as head coach

The first domino to fall that ultimately led to Fisch leaving the Wildcats began atop college football. Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement after the 2023 season, and Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer was tabbed to replace him.

Arizona was put in a tough position, with Fisch in the middle of a negotiation about a potential extension without a resolution.

The Huskies recruited him with its deeper football history and move to the Big Ten giving UW a better financial and recruiting outlook.

With Fisch deciding to leave and taking many staffers with him, players reportedly pushed for then-defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen to replace Fisch. Nansen at the time had an offer to become co-defensive coordinator at Texas.

The university instead targeted Brennan, who had already interviewed for the job with Heeke in 2020.

Brennan coached at San Jose State from 2017 to 2023, and while the Spartans won a total of eight games over Brennan’s first three seasons, they hit the seven-win mark in three of the last four seasons before Brennan jumped to Tucson.

Overall, the head coach went 34-48 at San Jose State.

Brennan was the receivers coach at Oregon State from 2011 to 2016. He was a grad assistant under former Arizona head coach Dick Tomey in 2000, and his brother, Brad, played for the Wildcats from 1996 to 2000.

Brennan, whose wife is also an Arizona graduate, worked under Tomey while the latter was leading San Jose State from 2005 to 2009.

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