UA coach Brent Brennan on recruiting, AD change, Snoop Dogg

Wearing a navy blue University of Arizona polo, jeans and white Nike pants, Brennan blends in with the crowd. It’s a rare — and fleeting — moment of calm and anonymity for Tucson’s busiest man.

“It was hectic,” Brennan would later tell the crowd. “Oh my God, he was agitated.”

Since being hired as the Wildcats’ football coach on Jan. 16, Brennan has assembled a staff, endured two transfer windows, run 15 spring football practices and bought a house. UA also changed athletic directors during that time, and its president announced he would resign.

Brennan handled everything with enthusiasm and charm. There’s no place he’d rather be than Tucson and nothing he’d rather be doing than coaching Arizona football.

“I’ve been blown away by the support of the people of Tucson since I got here,” Brennan told the crowd Tuesday. “I don’t know if I knew what I was going to experience when I came back. And it was incredible.”

So much has changed since Brennan was an apprentice under Dick Tomey in 2000. The loosening of restrictions on player movement has created new stresses for the coaching staff. Brennan was grateful when the spring portal window closed on May 1st.

“Last Tuesday was a big night,” he said from the stage at the Union. “I sat by the pool on the phone, calling the players, thanking them for staying. Because they have a choice now and they can choose something else.

“I maintain that it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with you and the city and how you rally around the players here and the other sports programs. It’s incredible. I want to say that. It’s really, really cool.”

Before speaking on stage, Brennan met with the media in Tucson. He discussed his interactions during the Wildcat Welcome Tour, the AD change, recruiting and new Arizona Bowl sponsor Snoop Dogg, among other topics. Below is part of that conversation. It was lightly edited.

What do fans say to you when they see you in person at these events?

A: “I get a combination of ‘We’re glad you’re here’ and ‘I hope you stay.’ “

What do you think of the second part?

A: “It is easy (to understand). It’s just following Coach (Jedd) Fisch’s departure from what I understand. I am in the profession. It’s part of the business. It’s the hard part of the business. But it’s the one thing people tend to hold on to.”

Shortly after you arrived, Dave Heeke, the person who hired you, was let go. What was it like going through that and what were your interactions with Desireé Reed-Francois like?

A: “I really liked Dave. It’s a tough thing for any new head coach coming into a situation and something like this happens. You also know that those things are out of your control. So you only worry about what you can control, what was right in front of you, which was keeping our football team, putting together an outstanding football staff, and getting ready for spring ball. And that’s what I did. This is what I have done.

“Desireé was a great addition. I met her when she was the athletic director at UNLV. We actually sat next to each other at a few softball and volleyball games and talked. At UNLV, she also hired someone I’m very close to in Marcus Arroyo, so I’ve heard incredible things about her from him.

“I was delighted it was her. I know her. I know she is extremely good. I know he just came from a really different and exciting universe, in the SEC and what it is, kind of at the forefront of all these college football conversations. We thought he was a great person to lead us into the next phase at the U of A.”

How is the recruitment going?

A: “It’s good. It’s busy. The way it ebbs and flows with multiple portals opening and closing since this staff has been here; with spring training ending when it did; (and) the fact that the calendar continues to adjust and college football people trying to find a better calendar that serves both the students and the people who train and work within it, May and June went crazy.

“Those were months that were more focused on recruiting the next class. Now May and June have become recruiting for this class, next year’s class, and the next class after that. So it gets really hectic.”

As you head into summer, what are your priorities?

A: “The priorities are still working to finish the ’24 batch, the pieces we’re still trying to add and it’s not stopping. We have players coming next weekend. We have players coming in June. And then also the coaches are on the road right now. So I’m sure they’ll come back with 10 players that we all need to evaluate. This is the main objective.

“There’s also a big focus on recruiting the class of ’25 because (they) can come on official visits. So we’re in the middle of it. And then we also have our training season, which is critical because in some cases it’s our first chance to see players. It is also a time when I can go out. I can go to work in a camp. We have some meetings. We’ll be on campuses in Texas, we’ll be in California, and then we’ll have our stuff as well.”

Are you swimming in different waters recruiting-wise here versus San Jose State?

A: “It’s different just because the location and footprint is different and where we’re going to play our conference games is different. Where before we knew we were going to play most of our games in California or somewhere out west, it was easy with the population of California and the talent base of California to recruit kids from California.

“Now knowing that we’re going to Texas, Oklahoma and Florida, that opens us up to other areas where we know there’s a lot of talented football players. So that pushes us a little bit more across the country.”

You’ve talked a lot about development as the cornerstone of what you want to do here. When you present this idea to the young players of the NIL era, do they buy it?

A: “I think they buy it by the time they get to wherever they go and don’t plan enough. And then, all of a sudden, they say, “Well, we’re not developing.” And you say, “Well, actually, development takes time, and you are.” But sometimes it’s hard to see.

“So it just depends on how mature the guys can be and how much they can focus on their development process instead of always being so focused on the outcome. I think that’s a challenge that everybody in college athletics is looking at right now.”

Tommy Lloyd has a pickleball court at his house. What do you do when it’s not as busy as the season?

A: “I haven’t reached that place yet. Spring Ball ended 10 days ago. I was up in Phoenix for the Big 12 meets and the caravan there. He was quite agitated.

“I’m trying to make a house for myself. That’s one thing I do. I wouldn’t say it’s fun. I met with the pest control guys today. I got a plumber, which was interesting. So it’s normal husband stuff.

“I have a bed tomorrow. Can not wait. It will be great. I’ve been on a futon and an air mattress for a while now.”

Snoop Dogg became the main sponsor of the Arizona Bowl and you posted that picture with him. What is the story behind that photo?

A: “We had the national championship for the snoop league at Spartan Stadium (at San Jose State). I think it was in ’17 or ’18. My son was quite small then and now he is taller than me. So I don’t know how much it was.

“But I met him. I recruited his son (Cordell Broadus) when his son was coming out and I was an assistant at Oregon State.

“Snoop is a great guy. It was fun working with him where he was as a coach and father; there was no coach and Snoop Dogg. Because if that was it, I would have tried to take selfies and go out.

“But he’s really cool. His son was a great kid. It was a lot of fun getting to know him through that process and then we had a few more points of contact over the years where we reconnected.

“He must be one of the most famous people in the world. So for him to get behind the Arizona Bowl like that, I think it’s great for the bowl game, it’s great for the U of A, it’s great for Tucson.”