Seven emerging candidates to take over as head coach for Arizona Football
By Mason Duhon
![Arizona v Arizona State Arizona v Arizona State](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2475,h_1392,x_0,y_97/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/201/01hm5gb7qkf2k4jr2te0.jpg)
Johnny Nansen. player. . Nan. . . Texas Co-DC & LB. 467. Johnny Nansen. 2
Nansen just left the Wildcats to go and take a position with Steve Sarkisian and reigning Big-12 champion Texas. However, with the big chair opening up, there has been more push for Arizona to pursue a reunion after just a short stint apart. This push notably includes standout linebacker Jacob Manu, who sent out a tweet with the hashtag "#HireNansen". He seems to be the predominant favorite among Arizona players.
#HireNansen 🐻⬇️
— Jacob manu (@Jacobmanu6) January 15, 2024
Nansen was largely responsible for the massive turnaround of the Arizona defense in his second year. The Wildcats went from allowing 36.5 points per game in 2022 to 21.1 points per game in 2023 and allowed nearly 1,000 fewer yards of total offense. Nansen would bring a sense of continuity to a program that is suddenly facing uncertainty once again.