Arizona is zeroing in on its replacement for Kevin Sumlin, and the Wildcats' search seems to have settled on two primary candidates.
San Jose State coach Brent Brennan, leading a renaissance year for that program, and New England Patriots quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch are the top targets, multiple sources told FootballScoop on Tuesday morning.
Brennan has resurrected the San Jose State program from its ashes, leading it to a 7-0 season this year that includes a dominant Mountain West Conference championship win last week against perennial conference king, Boise State.
The Spartans actually have won eight games in a row dating to their 2019 finale, and they're set to face Ball State Dec. 31 in the Arizona Bowl.
In Brennan, sources tell FootballScoop that he has connected extremely well with key members of the Arizona athletics department, including the upper tiers of the athletics administration.
The Patriots' Fisch has a lengthy resume as an assistant coach in both college and NFL. His head coaching career consists of a two-game stint as interim coach atop the UCLA program at the end of the 2017 season. Fisch went 1-1 in that role, winning the regular-season finale to get the Bruins into a bowl game.
A New Jersey native with his collegiate career at the University of Florida, Fisch has worked for seven different NFL franchises and multiple Power-5 programs as an assistant coach, including offensive coordinator. Sources indicate Fisch has a strong allies in key members of the Arizona administration, specifically the President of the University.
Sumlin was fired earlier this month after just three seasons atop the Wildcats' program, his tenure trending the wrong direction and ending in a blowout-loss to heated rival Arizona State.
Sources tell FootballScoop Florida State offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham has been a quiet but persistent candidate through the process. Brennan or Fisch is expected to be offered; but at this point we wouldn't rule any of them out.
Sources indicated that, barring any snags, Arizona officials hoped to wrap up their search within the next 24 hours.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest coaching news.