Arizona Announces Brent Brennan as Head Football Coach

Football
01/16/2024

Arizona Athletics

TUCSON, Ariz. — University of Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke announced today that Brent Brennan has agreed to be the next Head Coach of Arizona Football, pending approval from the Arizona Board of Regents. Brennan joins the Wildcats following seven seasons leading the San José State University football program where he steered the Spartans to three bowl game appearances and earned the 2020 Mountain West Coach of the Year award.

“I am incredibly excited to announce Brent Brennan as the next Head Football Coach at the University of Arizona,” said Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke. “Brent is an exceptional leader with a background of championship success on the field, on the recruiting trail, and as leader in the community. With strong connections to the Tucson community and an appreciation for the rich legacy of our program under legendary Head Coach Dick Tomey, Brent’s vision to continue the upward trajectory of Arizona Football is rooted in the historical excellence of the program. As we begin a new era, Brent Brennan is the ideal leader for our student-athletes, staff, campus and Southern Arizona community as we write the next great chapters of Arizona Football.”

Brennan, 50, is an experienced leader in college football who enjoyed two stints coaching under legendary Arizona head coach Dick Tomey, the winningest coach in program history. The San José native first learned under Tomey with the Wildcats as a graduate assistant in 2000, and again from 2005-09 at SJSU as an assistant coach. The ties between Brennan and the University of Arizona run deep, with Brent’s brother Bradley playing five years as a wide out in Tucson under Tomey, and Brent’s wife Courtney being an alumna of the University.

Among a multitude of accomplishments at San José State, Brennan became the first head coach in SJSU history to lead the Spartans to three bowl games in a four-year span. He also steered SJSU to back-to-back winning seasons in 2022 and 2023, marking the first time it had been accomplished by the Spartans since the 1991-92 campaigns.

“I am thrilled that Coach Brent Brennan is joining Arizona Football and our incredible university,” said University President Dr. Robert C. Robbins. “We are a proud Wildcat family, and Coach Brennan understands the Bear Down spirit because he has lived it. I look forward to the positive impact he will have for our players, our program, and our fans here in Tucson and nationwide.”

Throughout Brennan’s lengthy and accomplished career, he helped develop five All-Americans and 19 Professional Football players, including six who enjoyed NFL careers of five-plus seasons.

The 2023 season at San José State saw Brennan’s Spartans charge down the final stretch of the season, winning six consecutive conference games to close out the regular season and earn a bowl berth. During that six-game stretch Brennan’s offense averaged over 38 points per game while the defense held opponents to a meager 17.8 points per game. SJSU’s offensive efforts were fueled by ball security, turning the ball over just 10 times, the best mark in the Mountain West and the ninth best in the nation. The trend was continued from the 2022 campaign in which the Spartans led the country with only six turnovers on offense and a +12 turnover margin that led the MWC.

“I am so blessed and excited to come back to the University of Arizona,” Brennan said. “This incredible university is special to my family and I as it’s where I started as a coach as part Coach Tomey’s legacy. I can’t wait to meet the players, families, fans, alumni and supporters and build on the success the players and staff have started. Bear Down and Go Cats!”

Across time as a coach and player, Brennan has been part of nine teams that reached bowl games including in each of the last two years at San José State. The highlight of his SJSU tenure was a remarkable 7-1 campaign in 2020 that secured the Spartans their first Mountain West Conference championship and the school’s first outright conference championship since topping the Big West in 1990.

Since that impressive 2020 season under Brennan’s leadership, the Spartans have posted a 20-10 record against Mountain West competition and went 26-19 overall.

Brennan twice had the opportunity to learn from Dick Tomey, first as a graduate assistant at Arizona in 2000 and again as an assistant coach at San JosIt is State from 2005-09. His crossover with Tomey at SJSU included the Spartans impressive 9-4 campaign in 2006 that concluded with a victory over the University of New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl. That 2006 season orchestrated by Tomey and Brennan still stands as one of just 14 nine-plus win seasons in SJSU history.

A former wide receiver during his playing days, Brennan has long been regarded as an exceptional offensive mind. Players recruited and coached by Brennan litter the San José State receiving record books, while his time at Oregon State from 2001-15 included the mentorship of numerous standouts highlighted by 2013 Biletnikoff Award winner Brandin Cooks.

Prior to his second stint in San José, Brennan logged six seasons coaching wide receivers at Oregon State where he and the offensive staff fielded some of the most dangerous offenses in the country. The Beavers passing attack was explosive and relentless, ranking top 20 nationally in 2011 (19th), 2012 (20th), and 2013 (3rd).

Brennan also logged time with Cal Poly (2001-04) as an assistant coach. He opened his coaching career with Woodside High School in California before securing a trio of one-year graduate assistant positions at Hawai’i (1998), Washington (1999), and Arizona (2000).

His playing career spanned five seasons at UCLA as a wide receiver, where he lettered as part of the Bruins 1993 Rose Bowl team. Brennan earned a degree in history from UCLA in 1996.

Brennan and his wife Courtney are the proud parents to two daughters, Blake and Casey, and one son, Scott.