Brent Brennan Lobbying to Retain Key Coordinators
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Arizona is headed to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl after ringing in the new year, aiming for its 10th win of the season against the ACC's SMU Mustangs.
This season has been a whirlwind for the Wildcats. After three discouraging losses in the middle of the season, Arizona strung together five consecutive victories to cap the regular season, which included stealing back the Territorial Cup from rival Arizona State in Tempe.
The bounce-back campaign earned the Wildcats a host of honors from the Big 12 and completely shifted the narrative around coach Brent Brennan. While some questioned if Brennan was the right guy to lead the program after a 4-8 first season in Tucson, many now think he could have the program on the path to new heights.
Possibly the biggest reason Arizona was able to spark such a remarkable turnaround season is how Brennan reconstructed his staff during the offseason. Now, he hopes Arizona can keep its star coordinators in town a little longer.
Arizona Working On Extensions for Seth Doege, Danny Gonzales
On Sunday, while discussing the team's upcoming visit to the Holiday Bowl, Brennan said it is "absolutely critical" for the Wildcats to keep its coaching staff intact for the sake of continuity within the program. That means paying up to keep offensive coordinator Seth Doege and defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.
"Leadership is so important," Brennan said. "It’s obvious that in the world of college football, it’s important too. When you look at what’s happened over the last two or three weeks, I think keeping our staff together is the most important thing I can do right now, and that’s what we’re working really hard at."
Both coordinators just completed their first regular season with Arizona, and they helped orchestrate improvement on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, Doege found a way to turn a stagnant offense from a year ago into an explosive scoring unit with quarterback Noah Fifita. Arizona averaged 21.8 points (15th in Big 12) and 354.5 yards of total offense (14th) per game last season. In 2025, Doege flipped the script, averaging 32.6 points (third) and 404.8 yards of total offense (sixth) per game.
Fifita improved as a passer as well. After leading the Big 12 with 12 interceptions in 2024, he turned around and threw for 2,963 yards, 26 touchdowns and just five interceptions this season.
On defense, Gonzales had a similar reversal, but on a larger scale. After being shredded in 2024, Gonzales turned the Wildcats' defense into one of the best in the country. In 2025, Arizona's defense allowed 18.9 points per game (19th nationally), 155.9 passing yards (4th), 301.6 total yards (16th) and 2.3 turnovers forced per game (1st).
Brennan recognizes the value that both coaches bring to the program, and that value could be highly sought after by programs moving through coaching changes or bigger programs looking for new coordinators. If Brennan has any say in it, they won't be leaving anytime soon.
"We're making really good progress in getting coach Doege and coach Gonzales here for a long time, and I'm excited about that," Brennan said. "They're tremendous coaches, tremendous human beings and we're making progress there.
"I like the way we're going right now and I'm optimistic about the future."
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Logan Brown is an alumnus of the prestigious Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He currently works as a General College Sports Reporter On SI. Logan has an extensive background in writing and has contributed to Cronkite Sports, PHNX Sports, and Motion Graphics.
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