Athlon Sports assesses Brent Brennan's hot seat temperature entering 2025

It was a difficult transition season in 2024 for the Arizona Wildcats. They both left the Pac-12 for the Big 12 and left the Jedd Fisch era for the Brent Brennan era, and it resulted in a frustrating season.

Now, going into the 2025 season, there are hot seat rumors surrounding Brennan. Athlon Sports broke those down, explaining why it is that there’s going to be so much pressure on him going into the fall.

“Brennan inherited a roster capable of contending for the Big 12 title,” Athlon wrote. “Instead, the Wildcats regressed to 4-8, with six losses by 20 points or more. Add in a new athletic director who didn’t hire Brennan, and it’s clear that the second-year coach needs to show marked improvement.”

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Brent Brennan came to Arizona from San Jose State. The San Jose State program is one that has struggled to find success throughout its history. The Spartans’ all-time winning percentage of .491 is 102nd nationally. On top of that, before Brennan got there, San Jose State had been to just three bowls since 1991. So, the three bowls he produced in his final four seasons there was a marked improvement in that program.

The challenge at Arizona is that Brennan inherited a team that didn’t seem to need a rebuild. The Wildcats were coming off a 10-3 season under Fisch. On top of that, Arizona did return a couple key offensive players in Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. At the same time, the Wildcats did get raided in the portal, largely by Fisch, who took key players with him to Washington.

Still, the 2024 season was a bit of a disaster for Arizona. After winning three of their first four games, including a win over Utah that looked better at the time than it did at the end of the season, Arizona lost five in a row and seven of their final eight games. That included several blowouts, capping off the season with a 49-7 loss to rival Arizona State. That left them 15th in the Big 12 standings.

Preseason predictions aren’t friendly to Brennan and Arizona either. Athlon themselves predicted another 15th-place finish for the Wildcats in the Big 12. ESPN, meanwhile, used FPI to project just 4.9 wins for the Wildcats. So, expectations aren’t high.

Regardless, Brent Brennan knows he needs to bounce back in year two. Otherwise, he could be on thin ice in the desert.