TUCSON — Arizona football didn't just flip a switch this season, it flipped its entire foundation.
What looked like an overnight turnaround actually began months before the first kickoff, when head coach Brent Brennan handed the keys of a struggling program to two new coordinators.
Coming off a 4-8 finish last season, Brennan knew the Wildcats needed more than tweaks. They needed a reset.
So he brought in Seth Doege from Marshall University to run the offense and promoted Danny Gonzales to defensive coordinator, giving both men the freedom to rebuild their sides of the ball from the ground up.
The impact was immediate, especially on offense.
"If Noah doesn't stay, it's a completely different football team," Gonzales said. "Noah stayed because of Seth Doege."
Doege rebuilt the offense around standout quarterback Noah Fifita's strengths; starting with a more disciplined, physical offensive line.
The shift was felt instantly inside the locker room.
"As soon as he came in...it's a different kind of energy," offensive lineman Alexander Doost said. "Everyone is on point...everyone joined in on his mindset."
And the results showed.
Arizona is now one of the most efficient offenses in the Big 12, a group that controls the pace of games and has powered Fifita's comeback season.
But for Doege, the transformation goes beyond the stat sheet.
"A unit. Not just a bunch of individuals," he said. "That's the magic of this year...we created a team where this last game actually means something."
On defense, Gonzales has orchestrated his own rebuild.
In just one season at the helm, he has instilled an identitity built on toughness, speed and relentless physicality.
" I feel like that's just the mindset Coach G instills in us," defensive back Genesis Smith said. "How we show up each and every day ready to practice...it shows up on Saturday."
It showed up in their recent win over Baylor, when the Wildcats didn't allow a single point in the second half.
"I knew a long time ago that we were going to be good on defense," he laughed. "No one else did, but I had to go against it every day."
What Arizona has now is more than a successful season, it's a unified, committed roster built around two coordinators who have reshaped the culture.
"Everybody on this football team either chose to stay for Coach B and the assistants or picked to come here for Coach B and the assistants," Gonzales said. "We don't have anyone on this team that didn't want to be here."
A year ago, the Wildcats were searching for answers. Today, they've found them, in the coordinators who rebuilt the program's blueprint and sparked a turnaround that feels built to last.
