One of the coaches leading his team into the 2020 Arizona Bowl could become the next coach of the Arizona Wildcats.
How’s that for a twist?
The Dec. 31 bowl game at Arizona Stadium pits Mid-American Conference champion Ball State against Mountain West Conference champ San Jose State. The Spartans are guided by Brent Brennan, a Dick Tomey disciple who is believed to be one of the leading candidates for the UA opening.
In his fourth season at the helm, Brennan has led San Jose State to a 7-0 record. The Spartans won the MWC for the first time and are one victory away from their first undefeated season since 1939.
SJSU — picked to finish fifth in the West Division in the MWC preseason poll — capped the regular season with a 34-20 win over defending conference champion and perennial powerhouse Boise State.
The Broncos were seven-point favorites.
The game took place at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, the latest stop on a nomadic journey from the Spartans. They conducted training camp at Humboldt State University — 327 miles from the SJSU campus — after COVID restrictions prevented them from practicing in Santa Clara County. They subsequently played “home” games in Honolulu and Las Vegas. And they never lost.
Brennan, 47, fits the description of what Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke is looking for in a coach: a program builder with ties to the Wildcats’ glory days.
Brennan served as a graduate assistant during Tomey’s final season at Arizona in 2000. Brennan then worked as an assistant coach under Tomey at SJSU from 2005-09. Brennan was among the speakers at Tomey’s memorial service in Tucson in May 2019.
After coaching receivers at Oregon State from 2011-16, Brennan returned to San Jose State to coach at the school where his father once played. The rebuilding Spartans struggled to three total wins in 2017 and ’18 before going 5-7 last year. Brennan was named MWC Coach of the Year this season.
Here’s how five other rumored candidates for the UA opening fared in 2020 (coaches listed in alphabetical order):
Bryan Harsin/Boise State
Title: Head coach
2020 recap: The Broncos finished 5-2, their seventh consecutive winning season under Harsin and their fifth straight with a winning percentage of .714 or greater. Boise State on Sunday opted out of playing in a bowl game.
Ken Niumatalolo/Navy
Title: Head coach
2020 recap: The Midshipmen finished 3-7, their second losing season in the past three campaigns. Niumatalolo has had only three losing records in 13 seasons and has won 10 or more games three times, including as recently as last year.
Jay Norvell/Nevada
Title: Head coach
2020 recap: The Wolf Pack is 6-2 and slated to face Tulane in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Tuesday. It’s Nevada’s third straight winning campaign under Norvell, who guided the Wolf Pack to a win in the 2018 Arizona Bowl in his second season.
Joe Salave’a/Oregon
Title: Co-defensive coordinator/DL coach
2020 recap: The 4-2 Ducks rank sixth in the Pac-12 in total defense and seventh in scoring defense. They saved their best work for the Pac-12 Championship Game, limiting USC to 38 rushing yards, intercepting QB Kedon Slovis three times and sacking him three times. Oregon faces Iowa State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2.
Kalani Sitake/BYU
Title: Head coach
2020 recap: The Cougars are 10-1 in their fifth season under Sitake. They reached double figures in wins for the first time since 2011. Ranked 16th in the College Football Playoff rankings released Sunday, BYU will face UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday.
Brent Brennan San Jose State head coach
