After a 4-8 debut season, the culture and identity head coach Brent Brennan has built with the Arizona football program have been questioned by an anonymous Big XII coach in the annual survey by Athlon Sports. Brennan was hired by Arizona after Jedd Fisch led the Wildcats to a 10-3 2023 season and Alamo Bowl win.
Arizona lost 28 transfers after the 2023 season and 37 after last year. Brennan hired Seth Doege as offensive coordinator and promoted Danny Gonzales to defensive coordinator during the 2025 offseason. Arizona also brought in several new assistants on offense and defense for 2025.
Fisch completely rebuilt the Arizona football program in three seasons. Arizona needs to show improvement in 2025. The loss of wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan as the eighth pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and several transfers who will be future draftees will be difficult to replace.
Only 12 of the 27 Arizona incoming transfers are from other Power Conference programs. Brennan and his staff are relying heavily on incoming transfers from Group of Five, FCS or lower programs to contribute in 2025. One of the comments to Athlon is that it was a tough ask for Brennan to continue the level of success Fisch built.
"“It looks like they’re on the decline. It was a tough ask for anyone to keep that level of success Jedd [Fisch] built at the end, but they’ve lost a ton of guys over the last two seasons.”Anonymous Big XII coaches via Athlon
“They’re still portaling in a ton of new faces. I don’t think they really have their identity or culture in place yet.”"
Arizona had a significant decline during the 2024 season. Arizona averaged 21.8 points per game in 2024 and allowed 31.8. Against Big XII opponents, Arizona was 15th in the conference, averaging 17.8 PPG and 14th, allowing 33.2 PPG. Arizona needs significant improvement offensively and defensively in 2025.
Doege is a promising young coach to install culture and identity on offense. Doege runs the Air Raid offense and played under the late Mike Leach at Texas Tech. Gonzales was elevated to defensive coordinator after coaching linebackers and special teams for Arizona in 2024.
Arizona quickly needs a reset of culture and identity with 55 new players on the 2025 roster. The return of quarterback Noah Fifita should help Brennan and Doege create the culture and identity they expect in 2025. Fifita should be the leader for Arizona entering the 2025 season.