New Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales praised offensive coordinator Seth Doege as having the right mindset during their joint meeting with reporters following the spring showcase on Saturday. Gonzales mentioned he sat in on the meetings when Doege was interviewed by Arizona head coach Brent Brennan
Doege and Gonzales met with reporters for over 25 minutes on Saturday after the showcase. Gonzales opened the time with the reporters praising Doege before any questions were asked. Gonzales stated Doege has the mindset to win football games and that he has had a significant role in changing the culture for Arizona.
Arizona lost 30 players to the transfer portal and brought in 25 after a 4-8 season. Doege has a huge rebuilding job with five transfer running backs and three wide receivers brought in to help upgrade an offense that regressed significantly during the 2024 season despite having All-American WR Tetairoa McMillan.
Doege has been repeatedly praised throughout the spring by Brennan and the Arizona players. Asked what the biggest improvements have been this spring, one of the answers Brennan provided was the explosive and aggressive offense under Doege. Brennan also stated he has been impressed by the speed Arizona has played with offensively.
"When Coach B(rennan) was going through the process of interviewing all the coordinators, I had the opportunity to one sit in, two, watch from afar....Then go back and evaluate all the tapes of the people that we were interested in hiring and then give my opinion.. it wasn't even close...Seth has the mindset...to win football games...we're very lucky in this program to have that mindset on the other side of the ball...he's been unbelievable this spring...we've made a lot of steps as a program...his role in that has been significant."Arizona DC Danny Gonzales
Brennan is taking a risk hiring Doege with only one year of experience as a coordinator. Before his one season as the offensive coordinator at Marshall in 2024, Doege was on the staffs at Bowling Green, USC, Mississippi and Purdue. Doege played in the Air Raid system at Texas Tech.
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita will play under his third offensive coordinator in as many seasons as a starter in 2025. Although Arizona lost McMillan, they should have a deeper WR corps in 2025 led by Washington State transfer Kris Hutson. Expect Doege to strive for a balanced offense in 2025.
"It's one of the most impressive things I've been around." — Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, on offensive coordinator Seth Doege
— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) April 20, 2025
Marshall averaged 181.1 passing yards per game and 201.7 rushing, during the 2024 season. Arizona averaged 247.9 yards passing and 106.6 rushing in 2024. As the QB for Texas Tech in 2011 and 2012, Doege led an offense that was extremely pass-dominant.
Texas Tech averaged 345.4 passing yards per game in 2011 and 355.9 in 2012. The Red Raiders averaged 125.2 rushing yards per game in 2011 and 139.9 in 2012. The Air Raid has evolved significantly since Doege was in college, as his offense and Marshall illustrated in 2024.
Doege illustrated his mindset of doing whatever it takes to win by leading a pass-dominant offense at Texas Tech and a balanced system at Marshall. Arizona opens the season August 30 versus Hawaii. Hawaii was 75th in total defense in 2024, allowing 376.9 yards per game.