Brent Brennan Sees His Stock Go Down After Rough First Year With Arizona
Arizona football was delivered a tough blow when it was announced that head coach Jedd Fisch was leaving the program to take the head coaching job at Washington.
After being hired after the team went 0-5 in the COVID-shortened season, Fisch began to build things up by going from one win in 2021, to five in 2022, to 10 last year.
The fact he left at the peak of what he was trying to accomplish made it even more disheartening.
However, the Wildcats got some good news when Brent Brennan accepted the open head coaching vacancy, opting to leave his post at San Jose State to take on his first Power 4 endeavor.
During his seven seasons leading that program, which is known as a tough place to coach, he qualified for three bowl games which was the same number that his three predecessors had combined in 12 years.
Brennan was regarded as a good head coach when he took the Arizona job, and because of that, there was a ton of excitement surrounding this group heading into the season since some of their star players announced they were returning to Tucson.
Unfortunately, things have not played out in that fashion.
The Wildcats just snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Houston this past Friday, but with a 4-6 record, they have to win their final two contests of the year to even be bowl eligible.
When looking at who they are going to play, that will be a tall task.
The rough debut season with the Wildcats has caused Brennan's stock to fall according to Morgan Moriarty of Bleacher Report, which is not something Arizona thought they were getting when they made this hire.
It's hard to argue with that sentiment, though.
This is largely the same roster that won 10 games in 2023 and capped off their campaign with a victory over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.
The offense looks completely different than it did under Fisch, with many pointing to the "old school" type of route trees and play calling as the reason for that. Not to mention quarterback Noah Fifita has taken a major step back, something that could be pinned on the coaching staff as well.
Prior to the win against Houston, there were some whispers that Brennan's job might not be safe.
It seems unlikely this athletic department would move on that quickly when considering the state of the program before Fisch was able to win 10 games a year ago, but this performance has certainly raised some alarm bells.
Brennan can quiet some of the concerns by winning out to qualify for a bowl game.
That would require them beating TCU on the road coming off their bye, and upsetting their archrivals, Arizona State, who is in the midst of putting together their best season in a decade.
