Brent Brennan

Brent Munger Brennan (born March 20, 1973) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at San Jose State University.

Brent Brennan
Brennan in 2017
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamSan Jose State
ConferenceMW
Record29–47
Biographical details
Born (1973-03-20) March 20, 1973
Redwood City, California, U.S.
Playing career
1993–1994UCLA
Position(s)Wide receiver
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1996Woodside HS (CA) (assistant)
1998Hawaii (GA/WR)
1999Washington (GA/TE)
2000Arizona (GA)
2001–2004Cal Poly (WR/RC)
2005–2006San Jose State (WR/RC)
2007–2008San Jose State (TE/RC)
2009San Jose State (co-OC/OL/TE/ST)
2010San Jose State (WR)
2011–2015Oregon State (WR)
2016Oregon State (OWR)
2017–presentSan Jose State
Head coaching record
Overall29–47
Bowls0–2
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Mountain West (2020)
Awards
Mountain West Coach of the Year (2020)

Early life and education

Brennan was born and raised in Redwood City, California, and attended Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, graduating in 1991.[1][2][3] Brennan later went to UCLA. He lettered in football in 1993 (jersey number 14) and 1994 (jersey number 86) as a wide receiver and graduated in 1996.[1][4]

Coaching career

Brennan began his coaching career at Woodside High School in Woodside, California as an assistant in 1996. After two seasons at Woodside, Brennan enrolled in graduate school at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and served as a graduate assistant on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team in 1998.[5] Brennan also had stints as a graduate assistant at Washington under Rick Neuheisel in 1999 and Arizona in 2000 under Dick Tomey.[1]

From 2001 to 2004, Brennan was wide receivers coach at Cal Poly under Rich Ellerson.[1] Brennan also became recruiting coordinator in 2004.[5] Cal Poly moved from independence to the Great West Football Conference in 2004 and won the conference championship in its inaugural season there.

Reuniting with Tomey, Brennan became an assistant coach at San Jose State in 2005 and would coach in various capacities for six seasons, encompassing Tomey's entire tenure and Mike MacIntyre's first season. Also a recruiting coordinator, Brennan coached wide receivers in 2005 and 2006, during which he coached future NFL draft picks James Jones and John Broussard and helped San Jose State win its first bowl since 1990 in the 2006 New Mexico Bowl.[1] Brennan coached tight ends while still being recruiting coordinator in the 2007 and 2008 seasons. In 2009, Brennan became co-offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator, while coaching offensive tackles and tight ends as well. When MacIntyre became head coach in 2010, Brennan only coached wide receivers.[1]

From 2011 to 2016, Brennan coached wide receivers at Oregon State, more specifically outside receivers in his final season.[6] Among the players that Brennan coached at Oregon State were the school's all-time leading receiver James Rodgers, and All-American receivers Brandin Cooks and Markus Wheaton;[7] Cooks also won the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 2013.[8]

San Jose State

Brennan was hired as San Jose State's head coach on December 7, 2016.[9] His first two seasons ended with a combined 3–22 record, including a 1–11 season in 2018 that tied the 2010 team for the fewest in program history. Despite the poor record, five of the 2018 team's losses were by fewer than nine points, with three being determined by a field goal.[10]

In 2019, the Spartans began 2–1, and a victory over Arkansas marked the team's first win against a Southeastern Conference opponent.[11] San Jose State also defeated Army, becoming the 20th program all time to beat all three FBS United States service academies (Army, Air Force, and Navy), and rival Fresno State in a comeback.[12] The Spartans finished 5–7, falling one win short of bowl eligibility.[11] Brennan received a three-year contract extension at the end of the season.[12]

The 2020 Spartans went 6–0 in the regular season despite having two games canceled and their final two home games relocated due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the pandemic had also forced the team to conduct preseason practices at Humboldt State University due to Santa Clara County restrictions.[13] San Jose State's undefeated record qualified them for the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game, where they defeated Boise State for the first time 34–20; it was the Spartans' first undisputed conference championship since 1990 and their first 7–0 record since 1939.[14] Brennan was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year for his team's successes, which included being ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since 2012 and a debut appearance in the College Football Playoff rankings,[15][16] and also finished fifth in the Associated Press College Football Coach of the Year Award voting with three first-place votes.[17] He signed a contract extension on December 23.[18]

Personal life

Brennan's father Steve played for San Jose State in 1967 while his mother Beth was a cheerleader at the university.[19] He was a first cousin of former Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan.[20]

He and his wife Courtney have two daughters and a son.[21]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
San Jose State Spartans (Mountain West Conference) (2017–present)
2017 San Jose State 2–111–7T–5th (West)
2018 San Jose State 1–111–76th (West)
2019 San Jose State 5–72–6T–4th (West)
2020 San Jose State 7–17–0T–1stL Arizona2424
2021 San Jose State 5–73–5T–4th (West)
2022 San Jose State 7–55–3T–2nd (West)L Famous Idaho Potato
2023 San Jose State 3–52–2
San Jose State: 29–4721–30
Total:29–47
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References
  1. "Brent Brennan". San Jose State Athletics. 2010. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  2. Mazeika, Vytas (December 9, 2016). "Life comes full circle for San Jose State football coach Brent Brennan". The Mercury News. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  3. "Brent Brennan". San Jose State Athletics. 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  4. UCLA football lettermen
  5. "Brent Brennan". Cal Poly Mustangs. Archived from the original on October 31, 2004. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  6. "Brent Brennan". Oregon State Athletics. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  7. Scheer, Jason (December 20, 2020). "Coaching Profile: Brent Brennan". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  8. Dalgleish, McKenzie. "San Jose State names Oregon State's Brent Brennan as HC". theScore. Score Media and Gaming Inc. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  9. "Brent Brennan named San Jose State University head football coach". San Jose State Athletics. December 7, 2016. Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  10. Pashelka, Curtis (November 10, 2020). "Trust the process: How San Jose State's Brent Brennan is turning doubters into believers". The Mercury News. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  11. Peterson, C. J. (December 13, 2019). "San Jose State football coach: "I want to be here the next 15 years"". The Mercury News. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  12. "Spartans Sign Brennan to Contract Extension". San Jose State Spartans. December 13, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  13. Kroner, Steve (December 12, 2020). "'Let's win 'em all': Unbeaten San Jose State earns spot in Mountain West title game". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  14. Kroner, Steve (December 19, 2020). "Unbeaten San Jose State dusts Boise State in Mountain West title game". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  15. "Hall, Brennan Take Top Mountain West Football Honors". San Jose State University Athletics. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  16. Sabedra, Darren (December 15, 2020). "Brent Brennan named Mountain West coach of the year as San Jose State moves into CFP Top 25". Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  17. Russo, Ralph D. (December 30, 2020). "Coastal Carolina's Jamey Chadwell is AP coach of the year". Associated Press. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  18. "Brent Brennan & SJSU Agree To Contract Extension". San Jose State Spartans. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  19. Kroner, Steve (December 8, 2016). "Brent Brennan's San Jose State roots run deep". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  20. Bumbaca, Chris (May 11, 2021). "Former University of Hawaii QB, Heisman candidate Colt Brennan dead at 37". USA Today. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  21. "San Jose State hires Oregon State assistant Brent Brennan as coach". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Bay Area News Group. December 8, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
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