New Arizona coach Jedd Fisch told people during the hiring process that he believed he could assemble a first-rate staff for the Wildcats.
Consider this potential move a big one.
Fisch has been working on adding well-regarded defensive coordinator Don Brown as a centerpiece hire of Fisch's new staff in the desert.
Brown just days ago was relieved of his duties at Michigan, but the Wolverines' struggles far more hinged on a derelict offense than any consistent defensive short-comings.
Prior to this truncated season, Brown's defenses at Michigan never had finished outside of the top 10 nationally in yards per play. Additionally, the groups consistently had ranked among the absolute stingiest defenses nationally in rushing yards allowed as well as scoring defense.
While the Wolverines allowed nearly 35 points per game this season, retooling a defense that lost multiple picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, the group previously under Brown had consistently ranked in the top-20 or better in points allowed per game and had not even allowed a full 21 points per game in any year under Brown.
Brown has 12-straight years as the defensive play-caller at the Power-5 level, including strong work at both Maryland and Boston College immediately before he was hired by Jim Harbaugh to run the defenses in Ann Arbor.
If Fisch is able to finalize a deal with Brown, that would be a big piece of Fisch's inaugural staff. We shared another expected big piece over the weekend.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest coaching news.