Arizona hired five new assistant coaches during the 2025 offseason. Arizona alum Joe Salave'a returned to the Wildcats as the associate head coach and defensive line coach. The other four new coaches are new to the Arizona football program.
After a 4-8 2024 season, Brent Brennan hired Seth Doege as the new offensive coordinator, Josh Miller as tight ends coach, Craig Naivar as special teams coordinator and Josh Bringuel as linebackers coach. The Arizona assistant coaches have had varying impacts on recruiting for the 2026 class.
Salave'a has been an exceptional career as a recruiter. Before returning to Arizona, Salave'a is credited with being the primary recruiter on five five-star signees during tenures at Miami and Oregon. Salave'a is the primary recruiter for Arizona for two 2026 Arizona commits.
Salave'a was the primary recruiter for edge rusher Harvey Moai and DL Kaisi Lafitaga in the 2026 class. Like Salave'a, Lafitaga and Moai are Samoan and both are three-star prospects. Lafitaga received a combined average rating of 83.54 and 25.6 points credited to Salave'a as a recruiter.
Team Work makes the Dream work💯
— Joe Salave'a (@CoachJsalavea) June 23, 2025
Even better people‼️
💥👊🏾💥 https://t.co/R0rbNgEM56
Doege was the primary recruiter for four-star quarterback Oscar Rios. Rios is the top commitment ever for Brent Brennan as a head coach, the third-ranked QB prospect in Arizona history and 15th overall all-time for the program. Doege was also credited with Arizona signing Sawyer Anderson in the 2025 class.
Bringuel was credited with Arizona receiving a commitment from three-star linebacker Jaden Parker, who is rising in the 2026 class. Before being hired by Brennan at Arizona, Bringuel was a graduate assistant as recently as 2022. Parker is the first commit credited to Bringuel in his career.
Miller is entering his second year as a position coach after being the TEs coach at Marshall under Doege in 2024. Miller is credited with being the primary recruiter for three-star TE Henry Gabalis in the 2026 class. Before Marshall, Miller also worked on FBS staffs at Bowling Green and Purdue.
Naivar does not have any commits credited to him in the 2026 class but has over 32 years of experience as an assistant coach, primarily for FBS programs and worked at several power conference programs. Naivar was the primary recruiter for one five-star prospect and nine four-stars throughout his career.
Having position coaches who are outstanding recruiters is essential in modern college football. Brennan hired a mix of experienced and young coaches on the rise to his staff. The 2026 Arizona class has risen recently. The commitment from Rios was a huge boost for the 2026 Arizona class.