Brent Brennan, a San Jose native and second-generation Spartan, just finished his seventh season as the San José State University football head coach in 2023 and led the Spartans to a 7-6 record in 2023 and also a 7-5 record in 2022 including trips to the EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Brennan is the first head coach to lead the Spartans to three bowl games and it was the first time the Spartans have ever gone to three bowl games in four years. It was also the first time since 1986-87 the Spartans had been to back-to-back bowl games.
Brennan has 34 career wins at SJSU which is good for sixth all-time at SJSU and is one win behind Jack Elway for fifth all-time. Brennan has coached for seven seasons at SJSU and is tied for second all-time with Bob Bronzan (1950-56). Dudley S. DeGroot (1932-39) and Robert Titchenal (1957-64) both coached at SJSU for eight seasons.
The back-to-back over .500 seasons were the first time for the Spartans since 1991-92 and the 14-11 record the last two seasons is the best two-year span for the Spartans since going 17-8 in 2012-13. It was also the first time the Spartans have had seven or more wins in back-to-back seasons since 1987 and in three of four seasons since 1982. Since 2020, the Spartans have gone 26-19 (20-10 in conference). This is also the best four year span for the Spartans since winning 26 games from 2012-15. Brennan is the first head coach to lead the Spartans to three above .500 since Claude Gilbert did it four times from 1984-89.
In 2023, the Spartans won six in a row to end the regular season and were co-regular season Mountain West Champions. Brennan helped lead the Spartans to a 42-18 win over No. 25 Fresno State which was their first victory over a nationally ranked opponent since Nov. 29, 2013. He also helped shutout Hawai'i in Hawai'i for the first time this century in a 35-0 Spartan victory.
SJSU ran all over opponents rushing for 150 yards or more in nine games in 2023 including the last seven overall, plus ran for 100 yards or more in 11 games and had 313 yards against No. 25 Fresno State which were the most the Spartans had rushed for since Sept. 10, 2016 when they rushed for 409 yards against Portland State and it was the first time the Spartans had rushed for 300 plus yards against an FBS opponent since Oct. 24, 2015 when they rushed for 317 yards against New Mexico. The Spartans also rushed for 259 yards at UNM (10/14) and 251 yards against Utah State (10/21) and that was the first time since 2006 the Spartans had back-to-back 250 plus rushing yard games. The 2,393 rushing yards the Spartans finished 2023 with are the most for the Spartans this century and only 85 yards behind the SJSU single-season record. Defensively, the Spartans pass defense ended the season first in the Mountain West and 16th in the nation only letting up 186.8 yards per game. Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded the Spartans in the conference first in coverage, second in passer rating against and they were third in interceptions. The Spartans finished the 2023 season with a +11 turnover margin which led the Mountain West Conference and was good for fifth in the country. The Spartans had 10 named All-Mountain West including Chevan Cordeiro, Kairee Robinson and Tre Smith who were named All-Mountain West First Team.
In 2022, SJSU led the country with only six turnovers during the regular season and +12 overall in the regular season which led the Mountain West Conference. Viliami Fehoko was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and is the second under Brennan to do so following Cade Hall in 2020. In the past three seasons, the Spartans have had 33 players with Mountain West honors and two defensive players of the year. Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro led the Mountain West with 3,251 yards passing and 23 throwing touchdowns. He also led the Mountain West with 31 total touchdowns. The 23 passing touchdowns were the most under Brennan in a season and the nine quarterback rushing touchdowns are a SJSU modern day record. Wide receiver Elijah Cooks ended the campaign with 10 touchdowns which is the most under Brennan and had 1,076 yards on the season. It was the second time under Brennan that a quarterback threw for over 3,000 yards and a wide receiver had over 1,000 yards receiving.
The Spartans came off a 5-7 injury plagued season in 2021 in which backup quarterback Nick Nash was moved to wide receiver for a few games due to lack of healthy bodies. Two Spartans signed NFL contracts in the offseason in Jack Snyder (LAR) and Derrick Deese, Jr. (DET).
In 2020, Brennan led the Spartans to a 7-1 record with their first Mountain West Conference championship and first league title of any kind since sharing the 1991 Big West Conference championship and first outright crown since winning the Big West in 1990. The Spartans were back in the post-season bowl picture for the first time since 2015 and ranked in the final Associated Press poll since 2012 (24).
The Spartans ended the 2020 season at the Offerpad Arizona Bowl while playing the fifth toughest schedule of the season according to the NCAA.
San Jose State's .875 winning percentage from its 7-1 record was the third best in school history and best by a Spartan team since 1940. The Spartans were one of the last four undefeated teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2020. Brennan became the first San Jose State football coach to receive votes in the Associated Press' coach of the year balloting with three first place votes and a fifth-place finish. He was a semifinalist for the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award and the George Munger Coach of the Year Award conveyed by the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia. Brennan has an overall record of 20-37 at SJSU.
AWARDS:
- Lombardi Foundation's College Coach of the Year (2020)
- Mountain West Coach of the Year (2020)
- American Football Coaches Association Region V Coach of the Year (2020)
PREVIOUS:
- Assistant coach with the Spartans during the 2005 through 2010 seasons under head coaches Dick Tomey and Mike MacIntyre
- Five wide receivers he recruited or coached are among the Spartans' top career pass receiving leaders with 146 or more receptions. Brennan coached San Jose State's only two players with at least 200 career receptions and 3,000 career receiving yards, Noel Grigsby and Chandler Jones. He also coached Josh Oliver, the Jacksonville Jaguars' 2019 third-round draft choice, and Ryan Otten, two of the top tight ends in school history.
- As the special teams coordinator, the 2008 Spartans were 20th nationally in kickoff returns and the 2007 team was ninth in punt returns.
- From 2011 through 2016, he coached receivers at Oregon State. Oregon State had one of the best passing offenses in the FBS ranking in the top-20 in 2011 (19th), 2012 (20th) and 2013 (3rd).
- Brennan coached All-American wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Markus Wheaton and former school career pass receiving leader James Rodgers. Cooks, the 2013 Biletnikoff Award winner signifying the nation's top wide receivers, completed three prolific seasons with the New Orleans Saints and signed with the New England Patriots during player free agency.
- Brennan began his coaching career at Woodside (Calif.) High School in 1996. He served as a graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii in 1998, at the University of Washington in 1999 and at the University of Arizona in 2000. From 2001 through 2004, he was the receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Cal Poly.
PERSONAL:
- As a college player, Brennan was a wide receiver for the 1991 through 1995 UCLA teams and lettered on the Bruins' 1993 Rose Bowl squad. He majored in history and graduated from UCLA in 1996.
- Brennan watched San Jose State home football games growing up. His dad, the late Steve Brennan, was an end who lettered in the 1967 season. Brent and his wife, Courtney, have two daughters, Blake and Casey, and a son, Scott.
| Brent Brennan Facts |
| Born: March 20, 1973 in San Jose, Calif. |
| 2017-present San Jose State head football coach |
| 2016 Oregon State University outside receivers coach |
| 2011-15 Oregon State University wide receivers coach |
| 2010 San José State University wide receivers coach |
| 2009 San José State University offensive tackles & tight ends coach/special teams coordinator |
| 2007-08 San José State University tight ends coach/special teams coordinator |
| 2005-06 San José State University wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator |
| 2001-04 Cal Poly assistant coach |
| 2000 University of Arizona graduate assistant |
| 1999 University of Washington graduate assistant |
| 1998 University of Hawai'i graduate assistant |
| 1996-97 Woodside (Calif.) High School assistant coach |
| Bowl Game Participation |
| 2023 EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl (head coach) |
| 2022 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (head coach) |
| 2020 Offerpad Arizona Bowl (head coach) |
| 2013 Hawai'i Bowl (coach) |
| 2012 Alamo Bowl (coach) |
| 2006 New Mexico Bowl (coach) |
| 1998 Holiday Bowl (coach) |
| 1993 Rose Bowl (player) |
| 1991 John Hancock Sun Bowl (player) |
| They Played for Coach Brennan |
| Brandin Cooks, WR - Houston Texans, 9th NFL season |
| Obum Gwacham, DE – British Columbia Lions, 5th professional season |
| Josh Oliver, TE – Baltimore Ravens, 3rd NFL season |
| Victor Bolden, WR - Detroit Lions, 3rd NFL season |
| Markus Wheaton, WR - Played six NFL seasons |
| Ramses Barden, WR - Played six NFL seasons |
| John Broussard, WR – Played two NFL seasons |
| Adam Herzing, WR - Played one NFL season |
| Chandler Jones, WR - Played two professional seasons (practice squads) |
| James Jones, WR – Played nine NFL seasons |
| Kevin Jurovich, WR – Played one NFL season (practice squad) |
| Kassim Osgood, WR – Played 12 NFL seasons |
| Ryan Otten, TE – Played two NFL seasons (practice squads) |
| James Rodgers, WR – Played three professional seasons |
| Rufus Skillern, WR – Played three professional seasons |
| Jerramy Stevens, TE – Played nine NFL seasons |