Brent Brennan
Followed Jedd Fisch. Brent Brennan moved Arizona from National Program III to National Program II in 3 seasons.
In his own words
Noah [Fifita] leads the way in terms of like that high profile player that’s chosen to stay, but I think this city appreciates loyalty […] and no one has been more loyal than Noah Fifita
It’s great to have them back
The sooner we could have a little bit more clarity about how it’s all going to play out, the better
I take it back to March Madness
Career arc
His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.
Reached National Program in his 8th career season — faster than 7% of the 675 FBS coaches who have ever reached National Program (rank #617 of 675 by seasons-to-arrival).
Style position and drift
Where each stint’s offense sat between run-first and pass-first, and how far it moved from one season to the next. The band is that stint’s real season-to-season range, not a fixed-width box.
Season-to-season pass-rate range for all 258 FBS coaching stints with at least three covered seasons, 2014–2025.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
1–1 against his rivals. Winless in 4 tries against Kalani Sitake.
His own effect, isolated
A statistical estimate of this coach’s contribution to team performance, separated from that season’s roster talent, returning production, and his coordinators — pooled across his whole head-coaching career.
Model fit as of 2026-09-04.
Coaching career
12th-best Arizona tenure of 20 by the numbers.
Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.
Followed Jedd Fisch (2021–2023).
| Season | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||
| Record | 4–8 | 9–4 | 0–0 | |
| Postseason | — | L bowl | — | |
| Recruiting rank | #85 | #50 | #42 | |
| Style — pass rate | ||||
| Pass rate | 57.0 | 49.3 | 50.7 | |
| Coordinators | ||||
| OC | Dino Babers | Seth Doege | Seth Doege | |
| DC | Duane Akina | Danny Gonzales | Danny Gonzales | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||
| Offense | 17 | 64 | 21 | |
| Defense | 18 | 78 | 86 | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only) | ||||
| 1st-down pass% | 50.6 | 45.5 | 54.7 | |
| Red-zone pass% | 44.3 | 49.6 | 30.0 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | 24.3 | 36.0 | — | |
A portal-built roster.
Brings in smaller-than-position-typical players than most.
A typical class-year mix of incoming transfers.
11 NFL Draft picks: Jordan Morgan (2024), Jacob Cowing (2024), Tanner McLachlan (2024), Tetairoa McMillan (2025), Jonah Savaiinaea (2025), Tyler Loop (2025), Jacory Croskey-Merritt (2025), Treydan Stukes (2026) + 3 more
1 player-season honored (All-America / national award): Tetairoa Mcmillan (2024)
11th-best San José State tenure of 19 by the numbers.
Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.
Followed Ron Caragher (2013–2016) · succeeded by Ken Niumatalolo (2024–2026).
| Season | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | ||||||||
| Record | 2–11 | 1–11 | 5–7 | 7–1 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 7–6 | |
| Postseason | — | — | — | L bowl | — | L bowl | L bowl | |
| Recruiting rank | #98 | #94 | #117 | #114 | #119 | #75 | #111 | |
| Style — pass rate | ||||||||
| Pass rate | 46.2 | 55.8 | 61.7 | 55.0 | 53.3 | 55.6 | 46.7 | |
| Coordinators | ||||||||
| OC | Andrew Sowder | Kevin McGiven | Kevin McGiven | Kevin McGiven | Kevin McGiven | Kevin McGiven | Kevin McGiven | |
| DC | Derrick Odum | Derrick Odum | Derrick Odum | Derrick Odum | Derrick Odum | Derrick Odum | Derrick Odum | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | ||||||||
| Offense | 2 | 7 | 60 | 83 | 17 | 56 | 81 | |
| Defense | 13 | 27 | 26 | 63 | 72 | 43 | 52 | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only) | ||||||||
| 1st-down pass% | 37.0 | 52.0 | 60.5 | 48.5 | 48.3 | 55.6 | 40.5 | |
| Red-zone pass% | 50.7 | 51.2 | 46.2 | 44.9 | 42.3 | 54.0 | 30.9 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | 33.3 | 21.4 | 28.6 | 25.9 | 18.9 | 30.0 | 27.3 | |
Barely touches the portal — recruits and develops his own.
Brings in smaller-than-position-typical players than most.
Recruits older, more experienced transfers than most.
3 NFL Draft picks: Jermaine Kelly (2018), Josh Oliver (2019), Viliami Fehoko (2023)
1 player-season honored (All-America / national award): Cade Hall (2020)