Arizona special teams coordinator Craig Naivar 'making us elite in that world'

Before this year, Arizona didn’t have a full-time special teams coordinator since 2020.

But blunders on UA’s special teams units throughout the season — starting with a 71-yard punt return surrendered for a touchdown against Kansas State — prompted head coach Brent Brennan to make a change.

Former special teams coordinator and linebackers coach Danny Gonzales is now Arizona’s defensive coordinator, and instead of hiring another position coach-special teams coordinator hybrid, Brennan wanted a full-time special teams coordinator. Brennan anointed former Coastal Carolina assistant coach Craig Naivar as the special teams coordinator earlier this month.

“When I was looking for someone for the special teams coordinator role, I was looking for someone who was passionate about that part of it, about that part of the football game,” Brennan said.

Naivar was Coastal Carolina’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach for two seasons and was nominated for the Broyles Award for the top assistant coach in college football in 2023.

Prior to his stints at Coastal Carolina, Naivar was a special teams coordinator and safeties coach at SMU. Naivar also coached safeties at USC from 2020-21.

The 53-year-old Taylor, Texas, native has around 30 years of coaching experience with stops at Texas, Houston, Kentucky, Sam Houston State, Texas State, Rice and Southern Illinois. Naivar started his career as the special teams coordinator at his alma mater Hardin-Simmons in 1994, before graduate assistant roles at New Mexico and TCU. Brennan said Naivar is “making us elite in that world.”

“He’s had to coach the kicking game in big-time decisions, but he’s also been coaching long enough to where he’s not new to this,” Brennan said. “He knows how to teach and he knows how to command a room.”

Naivar inherited an Arizona special teams group that lost multi-year starter and future NFL kicker Tyler Loop. The Wildcats return sophomore kicker and punter Michael Salgado-Medina, redshirt senior kicker and punter Cash Peterman and redshirt junior long snapper Trey Naughton. Additionally, Naivar will coach other players on Arizona’s roster for punt and kickoff coverage, kick return and punt return.

Having experience as a special teams coach from his assistant role under Dick Tomey at San Jose State, Brennan understands “it’s a challenging job because you’re dealing with the whole team,” he said.

“You’re the only coach on the staff besides the head coach that talks to the whole team,” said Brennan. “He just has incredible command in what he’s teaching and has total confidence and belief in what he’s teaching, and he’s a fantastic teacher. Everything is very clear and everything is well-explained. Everyone knows exactly where they’re supposed to be and the details of their assignment. ... It is complicated, because those are the plays in the game where you’re either attacking or defending the entire football field, width and length. You can say that about offense and defense, but it doesn’t work out that way. There’s so much space in those (special teams) plays in games.”

Naivar has brought “incredible energy” to Arizona football, which was felt by the players the first time they met him.

“The energy he had in the meeting room, everyone felt it,” Brennan said. “The command he had in what he was talking about was so powerful. The first time he talked to the team, he lit the team on fire.”

The Star spoke to Naivar about why he joined Brennan’s staff at Arizona and his plans to improve the Wildcats’ special teams units, among other topics. Here’s what Naivar said:

Why did you choose to come to Arizona?

A: “Coach Gonzales was a safety force way, way back when in the day at New Mexico, when I was a graduate assistant there under (head coach) Dennis Franchione. I had a connection to Danny. (Safeties coach) Brett Arce was on our staff at USC when I was there. (Offensive coordinator Seth Doege) was on our staff at USC. I’ve known Seth forever. I coached against Seth at (Texas) Tech, and then coached against Seth as a coach last year at Marshall. Those guys just making me aware of what’s going on and speaking for me and doing that type of deal. So, the opportunity came and I was excited about it.”

What have the last few weeks been like as you settle into your new role?

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A: “I’ve had to coach against Coach Brennan at Texas, USC and Coastal Carolina. So I’ve got to coach against him in three different spots and was very, very impressed with his teams. They played complementary football, they played tough, they were smart, they took care of the business and I was excited about that piece of it when this opportunity came up. (Brennan) is pivotal now with handling the ever-changing evolution of football with player retention and all of those things that have to happen now. Got here the week before spring break and got a chance to meet with the players, get around them and kind of organize thoughts for who does what on teams and things like that. But you know, it’s good spot. I’m excited to be back in the Big 12 and excited about where we’re headed.”

What led you to coaching special teams?

A: “It’s how I got on the field as a player, the guys that probably influenced me the most. ... As a special teams coach, you always have to find a staff that will put in the work with you. You just can’t coach them all by yourself. You’ve got to have guys that you trust and can be around. I’ve been very excited about the excitement level of the guys on staff to help round out what they do. ... Having a staff that does that and then Coach Brennan’s background of being a special teams coordinator is a gigantic help, as well.”

What are some of your coaching philosophies on special teams?

A: “There are points of the game that are gigantic swings in the battle of production, the battle of field position. We’ve got to be consistent, we’ve got to be fundamentally sound and we can’t beat ourselves. If you can play an error-free (special) teams game, you’re going to give yourself a chance to not lose the game.

“Now, if you can do something explosive, you increase your odds. But being just sound. With roster changes now, with new players coming in, it’s much like the NFL. You cannot get just too extravagant on schemes because you’re getting a new role of players every year. So being simple, being sound and, again, I use the term a lot complementary football. That’s part of (special) teams.”

Have you seen any of the mistakes on special teams from last season? Are those issues something you address?

A: “I watch individual players film and kind of see what (this player) does and how he fits. I look at the big picture as far as that goes. How guys can help us. Where does it fit? Where does he fit? ... Ultimately, on an NFL roster, there’s really eight to 10 slots and if you don’t have special teams value, you’re not on that team. Your special teams value sometimes overrides the fact that you’re the third receiver or you’re the third running back, the fourth (cornerback), so creating value for yourself through (special) teams and, in turn, helping us win football games.”

Is there a competition at kicker and punter?

A: “It’s always (an open competition).”

Do you envision adding any special teams players this offseason?

A: “Potentially. I will see where we’re at. I’d be lying to you if I said yes and I’d be lying to you if I said no.”

What is the coaching staff’s approach in righting the ship this season?

A: “Coaches point of development and stages of development and doing those type of things, that’s every year now. That’s what you face in college football. If you had 12 kids buy LEGO sets, each kid is going to assemble their LEGO set and that’s your team for the year. Soon as the year is over, because of the portal, because of everything, someone walks up and just kicks that LEGO set and watches the pieces go different places. Now everybody scrambles. Those same kids gotta build another LEGO set. ... You’re constantly building a new team, but your messaging and your core values of what you do have to stay the same, and that’s the unique part of being a head coach right now.

“This is uncharted territory for the guys that have to be able to retain talent, bring in talent and mold those guys together, but keep the same messaging, the same culture, the same way you go about things. And you have to be able to be a great communicator. You have to lean a little bit to being a players coach. You still have to be an old-school coach and you got to have a good blend. I’m pretty fired up with Coach Brennan’s direction of where he’s going and how he’s done some things. It’s a good fit because some coaches that used to do this would not survive anymore and a lot of them are not surviving, because it’s an evolving beast as it goes.”