Brent Brennan breaks down Arizona football's busy offseason entering spring practices

Many things have occurred since the last time Arizona football head coach Brent Brennan took the podium following the Wildcats' loss to SMU in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego.  

The Wildcats signed nearly two dozen players from the transfer portal, and the Big 12 finalized dates for the conference schedule.

Additionally, Brennan, offensive coordinator Seth Doege, defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales and Arizona's positions coaches received contract extensions.

Brennan, who is the first Arizona head coach to receive an extension since Rich Rodriguez in 2014, will have a $4.7 million annual salary through the 2030 season, which includes a $3.8 million base salary, plus $500,000 annually for additional duties and $400,000 from Arizona Sports Enterprises. Brennan's previous base salary for the upcoming 2026 season was $2.6 million.

The Wildcats will have a $6 million salary pool for assistant coaches, which ranks third in the Big 12. 

Both Gonzales and Doege, who are entering their second season as Arizona's offensive and defensive coordinator tandem, will earn $4.4 million apiece in base salary through the 2028 season, being paid $1.1 million each in 2026, $1.6 million in 2027 and $1.7 million in 2028. Doege was previously set to earn $750,000 in 2026. Gonzales was contracted to earn $600,000 prior to the extension.

Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois recently told Tucson.com columnist Michael Lev that "Brennan is leading this program in the right direction and "the culture that he is building in Lowell-Stevens (Football Facility) and in that football program is really special."

"Our student-athletes feel valued," added Arizona's athletic director. "They feel connected. He and his staff are recruiting at a really high level. That team feels connected. He is fantastic in terms of the culture in the athletic department." 

Arizona also recently announced future upgrades to Casino Del Sol Stadium this fall, including new stadium lights, an updated sound system, modernized video boards and switching sidelines for the first time in roughly five decades — putting the Wildcats' opponents in front of the Zona Zoo.

"We're excited about that and what that means for our program," Brennan said of the stadium upgrades. 

The Wildcats officially start spring football in three weeks and kick off the spring practice schedule on March 24, with the annual spring showcase on Saturday, April 25. Following a 9-4 season and a trip to the Holiday Bowl in Brennan's second season in Tucson, coupled with a busy offseason to fill the gaps on Arizona's roster, "I love where our football team is at right now," he said.

"We've been attacking the work," Brennan added. "The new kids are getting brought into the fold by the team. ... I love the way our team is attacking the offseason." 

Brennan coined third-year starting quarterback and fifth-year senior Noah Fifita, who became the first Arizona quarterback in 50 years to receive first-team all-conference honors, "a Heisman-caliber quarterback" after setting Arizona's career touchdown record (73) this past season. 

Fifita needs 829 yards to pass Nick Foles for the most passing yards by an Arizona quarterback — a record he could conceivably set before the Wildcats enter the bulk of Big 12 play. 

"I think Noah Fifita is the best story in college football," Brennan said. "He's chosen to stay, he's chosen to not take the money and run, he's shown up for the city of Tucson, for the University of Arizona, for this program, for his teammates and this coaching staff. It's a choice that he makes every day."

For the first time in exactly two months, Brennan held a news conference to address the current state of UA football. Here are the items Brennan discussed: 

How important was it for your coordinators and position coaches to receive contract extensions?

A: "I think that's huge. In the world of college football, when you see how many people are moving every offseason — players, coaches, all of that — it presents the greatest challenge of building a consistent and sustainable, winning program here at Arizona.

"I'm appreciative of the commitment from administration to keep our coaches here — and to keep all of our coaches here, because everyone was signing new contracts. It speaks to the belief they have in us and we've shown progress in terms of what we're building with Arizona football." 

What's your evaluation of what your staff accomplished in the transfer portal?

A: "I think we feel great about the players we have coming in. For the players that left, they already found good opportunities and that's going to be a great thing for them. I think that's what you want. I want every player that comes to play at Arizona to have a great experience being a part of our program.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

"How much they play or not, that's up to them. We make the decisions, but at the end of the day, how they perform in practice, it decides the games. ... If you put kids in a room and you ask who is the best player, they're pointing to the best player; they won't B.S. each other on that, because everyone in the room knows who the man is.

"I do feel good about the people that we added. I think it's going to be fun to get on the field, play football and get to practicing." 

How much were you involved in deciding to switch sidelines for home games?

A: "I would say quite a bit. It started two years ago. I'm not sure (Reed-Francois) is going to like me telling this story. I was standing with Desireé at the game against Kansas State (in Manhattan). The student section was on our sideline. Her and I were talking about the old Pac-12 rule, where you couldn't have the student section on the visiting team's sideline. In the Big 12, that's not a rule.

"Right behind me, the students were all over me. They found really creative things to say about my mom, my sister — they were relentless! ... At that point, Desireé and I started talking about putting the visiting team in front of the Zona Zoo, because the Zona Zoo is one of the best parts about coming to game day here. They're rowdy, having a great time and add incredible energy to the environment. Maybe we can turn some of that on the opponent?"

This is the first time Fifita will have the same offensive coordinator in back-to-back seasons since becoming the starter at Arizona. How will that continuity between Fifita and Doege take the Arizona quarterback to another level, in your opinion?

A: "I think that's going to be great for him, the consistency. Also, Seth's coaching style. Him and Noah have a fantastic relationship. There's a ton of trust built there. You have a chance to really help a player maximize his potential, when there's a lot of trust between the player and the coach. That part of it is going to be really good for him. For Noah, he's such a football junkie and it's so important to him. He works so hard and he studies so much. When you combine that with the great coaching Seth and their relationship, you do have a chance for an outstanding season from him." 

Last year's transfer portal class was composed of players — regardless of level — with years of experience. That's true with the 2026 group, but there are also players with limited experience, but were highly touted recruits. How do you know if it's worth the risk when players don't have ideal experience?

A: "I think part of it is getting to know them — if there's previous history in getting to know them. When we do that, we look at them as taking a first- or second-year player who is still a freshman to us, but has been in a program and has played in some games and high-level reps in competitive situations. The talent and the character of the kid is worth the risk, so to speak." 

What did you think about former UA defensive backs Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith standing out at the NFL Scouting Combine this past weekend?

A: "That's the goal, is to give as many players a chance to play in the National Football League. It was great to see what those three guys did at the Combine. I was so proud of them, so happy for them. It was really impressive. Those are three really special kids. Those three kids chose to stay here when so many high-profile programs in college football tried to pay them to leave. Those guys chose the University of Arizona over and over and over again and I love them for it."

What's your assessment of the upcoming schedule and the opponents you're facing, especially opening up Big 12 play against BYU for the second game of the season?

A: "We've known about that for a while. The exciting thing about that is you have a big-time football game Week 2, and the awesome part about it, for me, is you guys are going to talk about it for nine months and I won't talk about it until we play NAU. ... I think the (Big 12) is really tough.

"From top to bottom, it's the toughest league because everyone is good. Every week, it doesn't matter what the records are, you're going to play somebody with high-level talent, they're extremely well-coached and if you play on the road, you're going to play in an extremely challenging venue." 

Extra points

— Brennan said Arizona defensive tackle Zac Siulepa is having a "tremendous offseason." The 6-6, 389-pound Gold Coast, Australia native had a limited role in Arizona's defense last season and was tasked with improving his conditioning this offseason. Other returning defensive tackles on Arizona's roster are starter Leroy Palu, sophomore Mays Pese, redshirt junior Julian Savaiinaea, redshirt freshman Porter Patton and former junior college transfer Ezra Funa.

— Brennan said freshman Kaisi Lafitaga (pronounced kah-ee-see lah-fee-tah-gah), an early enrollee from American Samoa, will play defensive tackle. Lafitaga was initially listed as an offensive lineman. Other freshman defensive linemen at Arizona this season are defensive end Prince Williams and defensive tackles Keytrin Harris and Manoah Faupusa. Said Brennan: "There's a lot of pieces there that we feel really good about." 

— Brennan, on the availability of defensive end Tre Smith (shoulder) and right tackle Tristan Bounds (knee) in the spring: "We're going to be smart with them."

— Arizona hosted multiple 2027 recruits and transfer defensive lineman Victory Johnson on Monday. The 6-4, 250-pound Johnson is a former three-star recruit from San Diego and started his career at Colorado in 2023. Johnson transferred to Cal Poly and logged 26 tackles, three sacks, two pass deflections and an interception this past season. 

— Season-ticket renewal for the 2026-27 UA sports season went live on Monday. The renewal deadline is May 1.