Seth Doege (pronounced DAY-gee) joined the Wildcats after one season as Offensive Coordinator with the Marshall Thundering Herd on Dec. 13, 2024.
His offense helped lead the Herd to a 10-3 overall record including a Sun Belt Conference Championship and an Independence Bowl berth.
Â
"We are really excited to welcome Seth and his family to Tucson." Said Head Coach Brent Brennan. "Seth is a young, innovative offensive mind whose experience as a player and coach will bring value to our offense and coaching staff."
Â
Brennan continued. "He has worked with some of the best offensive minds in college football and Doege has deep ties to Texas and California which are two of our biggest recruiting areas."
Â
Doege, a West Texas native, has roots in the state of Texas and his father was a high school head coach in West Texas.
Â
Under Doege's leadership, Marshall won seven straight games to close out the 2024 season with a Sun Belt Conference Championship Game 31-3 victory over Louisiana. The 28-point margin of victory was the largest in Sun Belt Championship Game history and the three points allowed were also the fewest in the game's history.
Â
It marked the first-ever SBC Football Championship for Marshall and its first league title of any kind since 2014. The Herd clinched its first 10-win season since 2015.
Â
Doege's offense averaged 31.8 points per game, recording 27 passing touchdowns and 21 rushing touchdowns. Marshall averaged 382.8 yards of total offense per game, rushing for 201.7 yards a contest and throwing for 181.1 yards per game.
Â
Marshall QB Braylon Braxton thrived under Doege's leadership in his first season with the program, throwing 19 touchdown passes which was 39th nationally. Braxton finished in the Top 25 nationally in yards per completion (13.10) earning Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year after throwing for 1,431 yards and 17 touchdowns. Braxton was the only FBS quarterback to have an 8:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Â
The Thundering Herd finished 20th nationally in rushing yards, averaging 5.15 yards per rush last season.
Â
Prior to joining Marshall, Doege served as tight ends coach for Purdue during the 2023 season. In addition to his time at Purdue, Doege spent the 2022 season with Ole Miss after three years at USC.
Â
From 2019-21, Doege served in several roles with the Trojans, including offensive quality control analyst in his first two seasons and tight ends coach in his final year in 2021.
Â
During that time, he played a key role in getting a pair of Top 100 quarterbacks in the Trojans' Class of 2021, which included quarterback Jaxson Dart, who later moved on to become the starter for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.
Â
In 2020, USC's passing offense ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12 and 11th in FBS behind quarterback Kedon Slovis, who was an All-Pac-12 First Team selection after leading the league in completions, passing yards, total offense, and completion percentage.
Â
That came after a 2019 season in which USC was in the top 25 in six offensive categories (completion percentage, passing offense, passing efficiency, total offense, third-down conversions, and first downs). The Trojans also set school marks for passing yards, completion percentage, completions, and attempts behind Slovis, who was a Freshman All-America and Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year.
Â
Prior to his time at USC, Doege spent three seasons at Bowling Green from 2016-18 where he quickly climbed the ladder. After serving as a graduate assistant in his first year, Doege was promoted to wide receivers coach in his second season and added the title of special team coordinator in his final season.
Â
Doege's playing career also saw success at the highest level as he played quarterback at Texas Tech from 2009-12.
Â
As a senior in 2012, Doege was named a Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist after finishing in the Top 5 nationally in passing yards, touchdowns, completions, and completion percentage, Doege finished the year 380 of 541 (70.2%) through the air for 4,205 yards and 39 touchdowns. His 2012 highlights included a performance in which he threw for 504 yards in an upset win over No. 5 WVU, a seven-touchdown effort in a victory over TCU, and MVP honors in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Â
That came after a junior season in 2011 when Doege emerged on the national scene, completing 398 of 581 passes for 4,004 yards and 28 touchdowns. His highlights that year included leading the Red Raiders to an upset over No. 3 Oklahoma and a 40-of-44 performance against New Mexico.
Â
Doege spent the 2013 season on the practice squad of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons then played with the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2014 before later moving into the coaching realm.
Â
After a prep career at Crane (Texas) High and Frenship High, Doege enrolled at Texas Tech where he earned his bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sports Sciences in 2011.
Doege and his wife, Abigail, have a daughter, Leighton Flynn.