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ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ had just lost its rivalry game by 42 points, a defeat Brennan termed “soul crushing.â€� It ended a season that felt the same way.

Brennan was asked what he could do to win back fans who doubted the direction of the program under his stewardship.

“They’re gonna have to wait 10 months until we win a football game, or nine months, however far away that is. I’m not gonna be able to do it between now and then,â€� Brennan said from his perch inside the Bear Down Lounge at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Stadium.

“But I’ll tell you this: You only have one choice when you’re in this position. And that is to go to work and to believe that you can. Because the other choice doesn’t lead to the results you want.�

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s 2025 season opener is slated for Aug. 30 against Hawaii. That hasn’t stopped Brennan from stacking small victories. He won only four games during his first season as the Wildcats’ coach, but he’s winning the offseason so far. Or at least doing everything in his power to achieve that objective.

The latest transactions were promoting Danny Gonzales to defensive coordinator and hiring Joe Salave’a as associate head coach/defensive line coach. Installing Gonzales as DC was something of an expected move. The Salave’a hire came out of nowhere.

Talk about a pleasant surprise.

As UA football entered the long offseason — and the decision was made by first-year athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois to retain Brennan — the program faced a daunting challenge: How could it drum up enthusiasm for 2025 with the incumbent — and not exactly super popular — head coach still in place?

Bringing back Big Joe is one way to get the fan base hyped.

Not only was Salave’a a stalwart during the glorious “Desert Swarm� days, he’s someone UA fans clamored for when the program had previous openings at defensive coordinator — and even head coach. Getting him back here, finally, is an undeniable coup.

Brennan did not have success with a previous hire that could be categorized as nostalgic. But deposed offensive coordinator Dino Babers was asked to do something he hadn’t done in a long time — call plays. Salave’a is stepping into the same role he had at Miami (Fla.), Oregon and Washington State. He will recruit and develop tough, productive defensive linemen. He’s also in the prime of his coaching career at age 49.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has the makings of a standout defensive staff with Salave’a coaching the line; Gonzales coaching the linebackers and calling plays; and last year’s DC, Duane Akina, focusing on the secondary. Gonzales fared well as the defensive coordinator at San Diego State and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State. Akina is one of the greatest DB coaches of all time. As Brennan put it Friday, this configuration “gives us a chance ... to have everybody in the right seat.â€�

Brennan hasn’t hired a special-teams coordinator yet, and more moves could be coming within the offensive staff. But he made the most important move of the offseason when he hired Seth Doege as offensive coordinator on Dec. 13.

The Wildcats badly needed a fresh start on that side of the ball. Doege is a young (36), up-and-coming offensive mind who’s well-regarded in coaching circles. He exuded confidence when he met with the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ media, and he almost immediately put his recruiting ties in Texas to good use, securing a commitment from Dallas three-star quarterback Sawyer Anderson.

Doege also helped ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ retain starting quarterback Noah Fifita — another offseason triumph for the program. Fifita didn’t play his best ball last year after his breakout campaign in 2023. Some of that falls on him, as he’s conceded. He also wasn’t put in the best position to succeed. That’s why Doege is here. Before he even knew for sure that Fifita would return, Doege was talking him up and formulating a plan to help him.

Fifita never entered the transfer portal. More than 30 of his teammates did. But three key pieces decided to return: defensive backs Dalton Johnson, Genesis Smith and Treydan Stukes.

Win, win, win.

Gonzales cited “relationships� as the biggest reason that trio of starters elected to run it back, noting that Akina has tutored them for the past two seasons.

It “was probably financially better for them somewhere else,� Gonzales said. “They made the choice to come back here for what we’re building, what they’ve been a part of.�

Meanwhile, the staff has been busy trying to replace/upgrade what’s been lost. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s transfer-portal class had 23 members entering the weekend. ranked it 12th nationally; had it 29th.

Brennan said the UA had hosted 57 would-be transfers since the winter portal window opened Dec. 9, including as many as eight in a single day.

“I don’t think I can explain to you what this last five weeks has been in terms of the workload,� he said. “It has been incredibly intense, and it’s because everyone’s so motivated. Everybody wants to feel better. Everybody wants to build something that we can feel great about.

“That’s (why) everybody has been in here, day and night, seven days a week, poring over film, evaluating players, bringing kids in, trying to figure out what the best pieces and the best fit for us are.�

It’s impossible to say how it all will turn out. Internet rankings don’t guarantee on-field success.

But Brennan and his front-office staff clearly had a plan heading into the offseason, and they’ve meticulously executed it. As Salave’a, the latest piece of that plan, astutely noted, program building is more about action than words.

“Show me,� he said. “Don’t tell me.�

After he left the dais, Salave’a shared a warm embrace with Reed-Francois. She’s a firm believer in the value of stacking small victories.

Accumulate enough of them and you just might win big.