With spring ball a little over two weeks away, Brent Brennan and Co. have finally filled all three of open coordinator positions. Longtime college football assistant coach Craig Naivar will become the Arizona Wildcats’ special teams coordinator, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Naivar has over 30 years of coaching experience, most recently at Coastal Carolina, where he spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach. In 2023, Naivar was a nominee for the Broyles Award, given annually to college football’s top assistant coach. Prior to his time in Conway, Naivar led special teams at SMU (2022), Texas (2017-18), Kentucky (2014), Rice (2010), and more.
He replaces Danny Gonzales, who will serve as defensive coordinator after coaching linebackers and special teams in his first season in Tucson a year ago. Arizona’s other new coordinator, Seth Doege, has been in Tucson since December after being tapped to lead the offense.
Naivar will have some large shoes to fill as he finds a replacement for kicker Tyler Loop, who has the highest field goal percentage in program history (83.75%), as well as a program-record 62-yard field goal. The Wildcats will also need to revamp their return game heading into the 2025 season, after averaging just 5.59 yards per return, ranking 102nd nationally.
The Wildcats open spring practice on March 18 with a roster that features 53 new players, including 23 high school players, five JUCO transfers, and 25 transfer portal acquisitions. With Craig Naivar hired as the new special teams coordinator for Arizona, Brent Brennan and Danny Gonzales now have to shift their attention to replacing Duane Akina, who is departing for Texas.