Last season, Brent Brennan may have been coaching for his job. This season, he may be coaching for his future. Arizona’s recent history has shown a program that has difficulty sustaining success.

Third Year Trends

Looking back at some of Arizona’s more successful coaches, even those who had early success showed something more in their third year at the helm. Dick Tomey’s 1989 squad earned eight wins and had the first bowl appearance of his tenure. Mike Stoops guided Arizona to a 6-win season in 2006, which was a considerable achievement at the time.

Rich Rodriguez’s third year (2014) resulted in Arizona winning the Pac-12 South and playing in the Fiesta Bowl, while Jedd Fisch oversaw a team that won 10 games and the Alamo Bowl in 2023. This season, Brennan has a roster filled with his players, and the schedule features seven home games against five road tilts.

Team Prospects

The coaching staff is largely returned from the one that guided last year’s team, including offensive coordinator Seth Doege and defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales. The roster has a 5th-year senior QB, Noah Fifita, who is experienced in the system he’ll be running. Several of the skill players from last season have returned, including receivers Tre Spivey, Chris Hunter, and Giovanni Richardson.

There are more questions defensively, especially after losing multiple members of the secondary to the NFL Draft. However, the team returns enough talent and spent a lot of time plucking guys from the portal to help rebuild that side of the ball.

Working against Brennan and the Wildcats is history. Most of Arizona’s best seasons have rarely been followed by anything close. The last time Arizona had back-to-back seasons with bowl eligibility was 2014 and 2015.

Original reporting: Arizona Desert Swarm (Tucson Sports) — read the source article.