After a disappointing 4-8 season in Brent Brennan’s first year at the helm, the Arizona Wildcats have made some wholesale changes to their coaching staff and roster.
One of those changes was finding a defensive coordinator, and on Thursday, the Wildcats announced that Danny Gonzalez would take the reins on that side of the ball. Gonzalez served as Arizona’s linebackers coach and special teams coordinator in 2024.
In addition to Gonzales’s promotion, the Wildcats also announced the hiring of Joe Salave’a to serve as the program’s Associate Head Coach and Defensive Line Coach.
Salave’a returns to Arizona after playing for the Wildcats in the mid-90s, and earning two-time All Pac-10 honors while there. Over the last three years, Salave’a has served as the Associate Head Coach, Defensive Line Coach, and Defensive Run Game Coordinator at the University of Miami.
“We are excited to have Danny Gonzalez move into the defensive coordinator spot on our staff and it’s an honor to welcome an Arizona great, Joe Salave’a, back to his alma mater,” Brennan said in a release. “Coach Gonzales has years of experience as a proven defensive play-caller with the ability to lead and develop defenses that rank among the best in the nation. And Coach Salave’a is a Wildcat at heart who has a winning pedigree and who has demonstrated the ability to identify and develop elite players along the defensive line. The experience that both bring to the table will be an asset for our student-athletes and our program.”
Gonzales, a Broyles Award Nominee, boasts nearly three decades of coaching experience, including two seasons as a defensive coordinator and four as a head coach. While at New Mexico prior to his arrival in Tucson, Gonzales led the defensive unit to back-to-back top 50 seasons for the first time since 2007-08 and produced an All-American at defensive back, the first Lobo All-American since 2014.
While serving as the defensive coordinator in Tempe, Gonzales coached a Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year and picked up a nomination for the Broyles Award in 2018, awarded annually to the nation’s top assistant coach. His impact was immediate upon arriving in Tempe, as the defense allowed its fewest points (332) in seven seasons and held nine opponents under 30 points, a feat only accomplished five times prior during the program’s Pac-10/12 era.
Gonzales’ first opportunity to call a defense came at San Diego State, where he steered the Aztecs defense during their remarkable 10-3 campaign in 2017. During that one season at the helm, the San Diego State defense finished 11th nationally and led the Mountain West in total defense, allowing just 303.5 yards per game. From 2011 to 2016, while Gonzales was the safeties coach at San Diego State, the Aztecs hauled in 100 interceptions, the third most in the nation over that span.
Salave’a (pronounced “SAL-uh-vay-uh”), an Arizona alumnus and nine-year NFL veteran, is a dynamic recruiter who has developed numerous NFL Draft picks and All-Americans along the defensive line. He returns to Tucson for his second stint on the Wildcats’ staff after serving as the Defensive Line coach during the 2011 season.
Across coaching stops at Miami (2022-24), Oregon (2017-21), Washington State (2012-16), Arizona, and San Jose State (2008-09), he has been part of five seasons of nine or more wins and coached in 11 bowl games.
