With Jedd Fisch off to Washington, there’s a new head coach of the Arizona Wildcats in 2024, with Brent Brennan taking over in Tucson. Brennan is bringing with him a handful of his staff from San Jose State while hiring a few other former head coaches as assistants. Who will be on the Arizona coaching staff in 2024?
Arizona Wildcats’ Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Brent Brennan
Named the latest head coach of the Arizona Wildcats in January 2024, Brent Brennan is no stranger to Tucson. Early in his coaching career, he spent one season with the Wildcats as a graduate assistant in 2000.
He went on to be the WR coach at Cal Poly (2001-2004) before taking various roles at San Jose State — WR coach (2005-2006, 2010), TE coach (2007-2008), and co-OC/OL coach/special teams coordinator (2009).
Brennan then spent six seasons coaching the receivers at Oregon State (2011-2016). He coached the Beavers’ program-leading receiver, James Rodgers, and All-Americans Brandin Cooks and Markus Wheaton, with Cooks winning the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2013.
He returned to San Jose State in 2016 as head coach, leading the Spartans to three winning seasons in the last four years. Following a 3-22 record his first two seasons, Brennan posted a 31-19 record at San Jose State from 2020-2023, winning the Mountain West in 2020 and missing out on a spot in the 2023 title game after losing a three-way computer tiebreaker.
Offensive Coordinator, Dino Babers
A former head coach at Eastern Illinois (2012-2013), Bowling Green (2014-2015), and most recently, Syracuse (2016-2023), Dino Babers brings a wealth of experience with him to the Wildcats. Spanning a collegiate coaching career that began in 1984, Babers returns to Tucson, after serving as the Wildcats WR coach (1995-1996) and RB coach (1997).
Defensive Coordinator, Duane Akina
Duane Akina’s role was upgraded from defensive analyst last year to defensive coordinator in 2024. Dating back to 1979, Akina spent over a decade with the Wildcats in various roles, starting as DB coach (1987-1991), then OC (1992-1994), and DC/DB coach (1996-2000). He was the co-DC at Texas (2004-2007) when the Longhorns won the national championship.
Special Team Coordinator/LB Coach, Danny Gonzalez
Another former head coach, Danny Gonzalez, will join Brennan’s staff after serving at the helm for New Mexico from 2020-2023. Before that, he was the DC at Arizona State (2018-2019) and the safeties coach at San Diego State (2011-2016).
Assistant Head Coach/RB Coach, Alonzo Carter
Alonzo Carter followed Brennan from San Jose State after seven seasons with the Spartans as RB coach in 2017 before adding assistant head coach to his title in 2021. Carter started his career as a high school coach, posting a career record of 129-69-3.
OL Coach, Josh Oglesby
Josh Oglesby also followed Brennan from San Jose State, serving as the Spartans’ OL coach from 2020-2023. His first on-field coaching role came in 2019 when he was TE coach for the San Antonio Commanders in the AAF before becoming the assistant OL coach for the Seattle Seadragons of the XFL.
TE Coach, Matt Adkins
Another former Spartan, Matt Adkins started as a graduate assistant under Brennan in 2017 before being promoted to TE coach in 2019. Before teaming with Brennan, he had multiple stints as TE and WR coach at Southern Oregon, as OC (2012), and then as head coach (2013) of the Carlstad Crusaders of the Swedish Football League.
DL Coach, Joe Seumalo
With a coaching career spanning 30 years, Joe Seumalo joins the Wildcats after spending the last seven seasons with Brennan at San Jose State as DL coach. He started his assistant coaching career at Cal Poly (2001-2004) before taking on the same role at San Jose State (2005), Oregon State (2006-2014), UNLV (2015), and Arizona State (2016).
WR Coach, Bobby Wade
The program’s all-time leader in career receiving yards, Bobby Wade played for the Wildcats from 1999-2002, amassing 230 catches for 3,351 yards and 23 TDs.
KEEP READING: Arizona 2024 Football Schedule
After enjoying a seven-year NFL career, he spent the last five years on staff at Arizona State, first as a graduate assistant (2019-2021) before being promoted to WR coach in 2022.
CB Coach, Chip Vinney
After serving in various off-field roles at Oklahoma (2013-2016, 2018-2021) and Nevada (2017), Brennan gave Chip Viney his first on-field role as corners coach at San Jose State in 2022. The Spartans’ defense led the Mountain West in turnover margin (+12) in 2022, led the conference in pass defense (183 yards per game), and finished second in interceptions (12).
Stars Coach, Brett Arce
One of the few former staffers retained, Brett Acre, will coach the nickelbacks, or Star position, in 2024 after coaching the safeties and corners in Tucson since 2021. Before joining the Wildcats, he started his career as a defensive quality control coach at USC (2018-2020).
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