Brent Brennan will return as Arizona’s head football coach next season, UA athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois told the Star on Sunday night.
Despite a 4-8 season that she deemed “disappointing and unacceptable,” Reed-Francois decided that Brennan merits a second chance after making an unfavorable first impression.
“Coach Brennan deserves a fair chance to be successful,” Reed-Francois said. “So, yes, he is coming back next year.
“Our fans are not happy with how the season went, and neither are we. That goes for our student-athletes. That goes for Coach Brennan and his staff and everyone that is a part of this football program.
“Our standard is to build teams that consistently compete for championships. We didn't meet the standard. But I am proud of the fact that our student-athletes stayed together, and that bodes well for the future.
“Ultimately, we are judged by wins and losses. There are no moral victories, and we are going to get this right by providing the necessary support for Coach Brennan and the program.
Arizona coach Brent Brennan, shown vs. TCU on Nov. 23, will return for a second season in Tucson, UA athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois told the Star.
“We know we have to be better next season, and that process starts immediately.”
Reed-Francois met with Brennan for about two hours Sunday evening to discuss the state of the program and changes that will be made for 2025. Reed-Francois wouldn’t specify if those changes involve the coaching staff, but it’s a safe bet that some assistants won’t be retained.
“We talked about his plan to address the challenges,” Reed-Francois said. “We talked about revenue-share. We talked about resources. We talked about personnel. We talked about the identity of the football program.
“We also talked about ensuring that we are out there. We talked about the community. This is a really special community, and this is a community that wants to see that we have a demonstrated commitment to winning.”
Reed-Francois declined to say whether money played a role in her decision. Factoring in the buyouts in Brennan and his staff’s contracts — every assistant except offensive coordinator Dino Babers has a two-year deal — the total outlay if the staff had been let go would have approached $20 million. Reed-Francois was hired earlier this year to help get the athletic department out of debt, so that would have been a difficult bill to pay even with private contributions.
Arizona AD Desiree Reed-Francois, shown serving as a guest coach during the Red-Blue Showcase on Oct. 4, said football coach Brent Brennan 'deserves a fair chance to be successful' and thus will be retained entering 2025.
Reed-Francois said she plans to provide Brennan and the football program “all the resources necessary” to be successful. That includes a healthy chunk of revenue-sharing that is expected to become part of athletic departments’ budgets as soon as next year.
Reed-Francois said she sympathizes with fans who quickly become disgruntled with Brennan as the team backslid after a 10-3 season in 2023. Jedd Fisch led the Wildcats to an Alamo Bowl victory before leaving for Washington in mid-January. Reed-Francois’ predecessor, Dave Heeke, hired Brennan, who was a finalist for the job in 2020, from San Jose State.
With help from donors and team leaders Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan, Brennan was able to retain the nucleus of last year’s team. Arizona started 3-1, including an upset at then-No. 10 Utah. But the offense struggled from Week 2 onward. And injuries decimated the defense and weakened the offensive line.
Arizona coach Brent Brennan, shown vs. West Virginia on Oct. 26, will be given a second chance by AD Desiree Reed-Francois after a disappointing first season that ended with a 4-8 record and a blowout loss to ASU.
“Injuries plague programs. They're problematic. But we don't want to make excuses,” Reed-Francois said. “When we talk about the overall plan, we want to evaluate our strength and conditioning program and ensure that that is world class. We want to see ways that we can mitigate these injuries. Is there a pattern? We brought in our team doctor (Mark Sakr) about halfway through the season and had him evaluate and give us his assessment. We're going to continue to do that.
“Injury prevention is a key. Strength and conditioning is a key. Recruiting is a key. We're looking at every aspect of this football program and ensuring that (each) is the best possible component.”
Asked specifically what her message is to fans — many of whom disagree with the decision to keep Brennan — Reed-Francois said:
“I hear you. We share that frustration that this is not acceptable. We have higher standards, and we are going to build a team to compete for championships. We clearly didn't meet that standard, and we're going to make the necessary changes to meet those standards and achieve our goals.”
