Nansen, Carroll and other potential candidates to replace Jedd Fisch as Arizona football coach

Arizona is in the market for a head coach after Jedd Fisch left the UA for the same role at Washington.

Fisch bolted for UW following three seasons at Arizona after leading the Wildcats to a 10-3 record and a win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl this past season. Fisch is the first head coach to leave Arizona without getting fired since Larry Smith left to take over at USC after the 1986 season.

Multiple news outlets, including the Star, have been told the deal is for seven years at $7.75 million annually. That’s more than double what Fisch was making in 2023, although the Star has learned he had a five-year contract extension on the table from the UA worth more than $5.1 million a year.

Fisch’s buyout at Arizona is $5.5 million.

So, now what? The search for Arizona’s new leader of the program is developing quickly, and a new coach could be announced any moment.

Here’s a list of potential candidates who could succeed Fisch at Arizona:

Johnny Nansen

Current job: Texas co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach (until last week, Arizona’s defensive coordinator)

Why he makes sense: Several Arizona players have already campaigned for Nansen to become the program’s next head coach, with “#HireNansen” trending on X (Twitter). Arizona star and All-Pac-12 linebacker Jacob Manu, kicker Tyler Loop and left guard Wendell Moe, among others, posted #HireNansen on their X accounts in the hours after Fisch left for UW.

With Nansen as Arizona’s defensive coordinator, the Wildcats went from surrendering 36.5 points per game in 2022 to just 21.1 in ’23, which ranked fourth in the Pac-12. After having one of the worst rushing defenses in college football in 2022, allowing just over 209 yards per game, the Wildcats had the 27th-best rushing defense and gave up 118.2.

Nansen, who was recently hired as Texas’ co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, has strong recruiting ties on the West Coast and the Polynesian community. Although Nansen is preparing to coach at Texas, hiring Nansen would be considered an internal move and could keep the coaching staff and most of the roster intact, especially with the program preparing to join the Big 12 with a majority of its starters.

Brennan Carroll

Current job: Arizona offensive coordinator

Why he makes sense: Another internal hire the Wildcats could make with hopes of the program retaining coaches and players. The 44-year-old Carroll has held assistant roles at USC, Miami and the Seattle Seahawks before becoming Arizona’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Carroll helped Arizona’s offensive line improve in three seasons and recruited star standouts in Jonah Savaiinaea, Raymond Pulido and Wendell Moe.

Carroll’s father, Pete Carroll, former USC head coach and national champion, recently stepped down as head coach of the Seahawks, but will remain as an advisor with the team. Could the older Carroll, who is 72, potentially join Arizona’s staff as an assistant if his son was the head coach? Having one of three coaches all time to win a Super Bowl and college football national championship on staff could keep Arizona’s momentum with the current roster and recruiting. However, the Seattle connection could also entice the younger Carroll to follow Fisch to UW, along with other offensive staffers. CBS national college football writer Dennis Dodd reported on Monday that Carroll joined UA staffers on a jet from Tucson to Seattle.

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Brent Brennan

Current job: San Jose State head coach

Why he makes sense: Brennan was among the candidates for Arizona’s vacancy after Kevin Sumlin was fired in 2020, before Fisch was named head coach. The 50-year-old Brennan has a 34-48 record at San Jose State since he was hired in 2017. The Spartans had back-to-back seven-win seasons in ’22 and ’23. In 2020, San Jose State won a Mountain West title for the first time since 1991; the Spartans started the ‘20 season 6-0, the best start since 1939. Arizona wouldn’t be a stepping-stone job for Brennan, it would be a destination gig for the Dick Tomey disciple. Brennan was a graduate assistant in 2000, then followed the former UA head coach to San Jose State as an offensive assistant. Brennan would be in Tucson for the long haul.

Jake Dickert

Current job: Washington State head coach

Why he makes sense: Dickert is 15-16 in three seasons at Washington State, but the defensive-minded head coach helped the Cougars defense lead the Pac-12 with 29 takeaways in 2021, which also ranked fifth nationally. After a 4-0 start with wins over No. 19 Wisconsin and No. 14 Oregon State, the Cougars lost seven of their last eight games. Washington State is one of two Pac-12 schools (Oregon State as the other) to not splinter off to a new conference in 2024. The uncertainty of Washington State’s future as an athletic department could nudge Dickert to a destination like Arizona.

Justin Wilcox

Current job: Cal head coach

Why he makes sense: In the post Pac-12 era, Cal grabbed the lifebuoy thrown out by the ACC and will now get a 30% share in the first seven years of the conference’s media revenue, which is about $7-10 million per year. With Arizona expected to have a $31.7 million annual media rights share in the Big 12, the UA will have more money in addition to better resources than Cal; plus, cost of living in Tucson is significantly cheaper than the Bay Area. Wilcox has held defensive assistant roles at Wisconsin, USC, Washington, Tennessee, Boise State and Cal.

Other names to keep an eye on:

UNLV head coach Barry Odom

BYU head coach Kilani Sitake

Miami associate head coach and defensive line coach Joe Salave’a

Toledo head coach Jason Candle