Is SJSU coach a candidate for Arizona?
San Jose State coach Brent Brennan has become one of college football’s rising stars during the Spartans’ undefeated season, drawing rumors that he could be a candidate for a Power Five job this offseason.
Brennan skirted a question about the possibility of one such job during a video
call with reporters Monday.
In the wake of Kevin Sumlin’s firing at Arizona, several media outlets have listed Brennan as a potential candidate to become the Wildcats’ next head coach, but
Brennan said he’s only focused on the task at hand: beating Boise State and capturing the Mountain West title.
“We’re climbing the mountain and that’s all I’m worried about right now,” Brennan said on Monday. “That’s it. This team, moving forward, playing in the biggest game in the history of our school.”
On Saturday, San Jose State (6- 0) will
make its first appearance in the Mountain West championship game in program history after its thrilling 30-20 victory over Nevada in the regular-season finale. The opponent will be Boise State (5-1, 5- 0 Mountain West), which will be appearing in its fourth consecutive Mountain West championship game.
Along with the conference championship, the Spartans and Broncos both qualified for a bowl game, the details of which will be announced following the Mountain West title bout.
San Jose State was originally slated to play at Boise State on Nov. 28, but the game was canceled when the Broncos had a positive coronavirus test. This weekend, the Spartans and Broncos, both undefeated in conference play, will square off in Las Vegas.
“This team has won and had success forever,” Brennan said of Boise State. “They consistently put good teams on the field. They are talented, they are extremely well- coached, they play extremely hard.”
While Boise State has unmistakably been the conference’s best team since joining the Mountain West, Brennan has San Jose State trending in that direction.
Last winter, Brennan signed a three-year, $2.55 million extension to stay with San Jose State through the 2024 season after leading the Spartans to a 5-7 record, including road wins over Arkansas and Army.
At the time, Brennan said he intended to coach the Spartans for the next 15 years. On Monday, Brennan explained why he wanted to build a lasting legacy at San Jose State.
“I grew up here,” Brennan said. “My dad played here. I went to these games as a young man. As a kid, rolling down the hill before the stands were in the north end. That’s been my whole life. When I said that, that came from the heart. I love this place. I love what we’re doing. I believe we can build a winning football program at San Jose State and I think we’re into our process of demonstrating that.”
Should Brennan stay, it would buck a trend of coaches departing San Jose State for Power Five schools as soon as they bring the Spartans to prominence.
Jack Elway coached at San Jose State for five seasons from 1979 to 1983 and led the Spartans to a 3520-1 record before departing to coach at Stanford.
Terry Shea led San Jose State to back-to-back conference championships in 1990 and 1991 but left after those two seasons to be an assistant at Stanford under Bill Walsh.
Most recently, Mike MacIntyre, who led the Spartans to a 10-2 record in 2012, left San Jose State to coach at Colorado weeks before the Military Bowl.
Brennan makes sense as a candidate for a Power Five job as the Spartans are one of just eight remaining undefeated teams, but the Arizona ties go deeper.
In 2000, Brennan was a graduate assistant under Dick Tomey. Following that lone season with the Wildcats, Brennan was an assistant for four seasons at Cal Poly under Rich Ellerson, who was Arizona’s defensive coordinator when Brennan was a graduate assistant. Additionally, Brennan’s brother, Brad, played wide receiver at Arizona.
Since the turn of the millennium, only Tomey has coached at San Jose State for at least five seasons. If the 15-year timeline is truly Brennan’s goal, this season, his fourth, may provide him enough goodwill with SJSU to guarantee he’ll get at least halfway there.
Still, Brennan says he and his team are focused on the here and now. When asked how his team has processed its undefeated regular season, Brennan reaffirmed that his team’s only priority is beating Boise State.
“We’re worried about right now,” Brennan said. “You could say in some regard, we’re a lot like Boise (State) that way. We haven’t talked about it one time. I haven’t had one player talk to me about it. I haven’t talked about it with anybody. I saw it on social media, but really we’re focused on right now.”
OUNTAIN WEST HONORS >> Freshman Shamar Garrett was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week. Garrett ignited a Spartans comeback against with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half. San Jose State shut out the Wolf Pack the final two quarters to finish with a 30-20 win and complete the regular season with a 6- 0 record.