Who is Arizona football head coach Brent Brennan and what makes him a good hire?

What may seem like a head-scratching hire could be a great move; Brennan has deep ties to a legendary Arizona coach and has a better resume than first-glance would indicate.
San Jose State v Auburn
San Jose State v Auburn / Michael Chang/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next

Brent Brennan has been announced as the 31st head football coach at the University of Arizona following a seven-season tenure with San José State University. Now his focus will shift to roster retention and building a coaching staff. Reports have surfaced about Brennan potentially retaining former Arizona staff members who were rumored to leave, including wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings as his offensive coordinator, former defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen in his old position, and former defensive assistant Duake Akina as a defensive staffer.

People following the Arizona program casually may wonder what would make Cummings stay and bring the Nansen and Akina duo back, considering that he has no immediately obvious ties to Arizona or the coaching staff. However, a quick look below the surface reveals a different story.