Washington lost Kalen DeBoer in swift fashion to Alabama, which came in not even a week after the Huskies’ Monday loss in the national championship to Michigan. In turn, Washington moved just as quickly to find his replacement, turning to Arizona’s Jedd Fisch as the Huskies’ new head coach Sunday.
But now, Tucson, Arizona has the latest major college football opening. The Wildcats are fresh off an impressive 10-3 campaign that ended with seven straight wins. So who are the top five replacements for Fisch?
Arizona Coaching Candidates Who Could Replace Jedd Fisch
The secret sprouted out of the desert in what Fisch started to build at AZ.
His Wildcat teams showed significant improvement in all three seasons — improving to five wins after going 1-11 in his first year to building to 10 victories this past season. Along the way, Fisch got Arizona to knock off four nationally ranked teams in Washington State, Oregon State, UCLA and Utah.
How good was Arizona with Fisch? Had it not been for the Pac-12’s decision to place the two highest rated teams from the conference for the Pac-12 title game pairing, Arizona would’ve represented the Pac-12 South division against Washington in Las Vegas.
Still, Fisch leaves Arizona football in a better situation than where it used to be. Now, the ‘Cats have momentum heading into the Big 12. But who’s equipped to handle the head coaching reins moving forward in the desert?
Count on these five names to become linked to the AZ opening.
Brent Brennan, San Jose State
Not long ago, Brennan’s name was mentioned along with Fisch for the Arizona opening. The gig, though, went to the then-NFL assistant who was coaching the quarterbacks for the New England Patriots.
Now, Brennan is repositioned as a potential contender here. He recently flipped SJSU’s 1-5 record and got the Spartans to roll off six straight victories to clinch a bowl bid. Brennan also has ties to Arizona, as he’s a past graduate assistant there in 2000.
Brennan Carroll, Arizona
Perhaps Arizona decides to promote from within. Carroll comes off as the most decorated and intriguing replacement.
His offense took fourth in a stacked Pac-12 by averaging 448 yards per game. They also took fourth in scoring offense. But he was the run game coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks under Pete Carroll before arriving to Arizona.
He was also with Pete Carroll during USC’s national title runs, as Carroll was recruiting coordinator from 2004 to 2009 in L.A.
David Shaw, Former Stanford Head Coach
Could Arizona end up turning to a past successful Pac-12 head coach? And could Shaw consider a jump back into the coaching realm?
The former Stanford head coach did interview for the Denver Broncos opening in 2023 before Sean Payton got the gig, which signifies that Shaw is still very much interested in coaching. However, Shaw’s Palo Alto tenure became doomed through his failure to adjust to the current CFB climate of the transfer portal and NIL.
He has a winning resume and is familiar with Arizona from his coaching days, but he’s likely going to need to convince the AZ brass and boosters that he can adjust to the times.
Tommy Rees, Alabama
Rees became the odd man out at offensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa, with DeBoer luring in Ryan Grubb as his OC.
He now has his name linked to openings at Florida State under Mike Norvell. But Arizona could present the fast-riser his first head coaching should they pursue. Rees already has a dynamic resume with two CFP appearances with Norte Dame and ‘Bama (the latter this past season).
Even more appealing is his body of work with Jalen Milroe in ’23 recently could help convince Noah Fifita to stay.
Demetrius Martin, Oregon
Going to throw in a dark horse contender. However, AZ fans are more than likely familiar with Martin.
Before he created one of the top secondaries in the nation at Eugene, Martin spent 2018 and 2019 with the Wildcats. He was lauded for his recruiting efforts and developing stout DB play in the desert. Even before Tucson, Martin spent 2012-2017 turning UCLA into one of the Pac-12’s best pass defenses.
KEEP READING: Jedd Fisch To Take Washington Head Coaching Job
He spent this past season turning the Ducks into the best pass defense in the conference.
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