Brett Arce was promoted to the role of Safeties Coach in Jan. 2024. Arce has spent the last three years on the Wildcats staff working with the program’s safeties and nickel backs.
Since 2021, Arce has helped provide academic, athletic, and interpersonal direction for the Arizona safeties room. Additionally, he has assisted with meeting room agendas, on-field drills, practice plan, and game plan development, along with numerous other responsibilities.
Arce helped Arizona make one of the greatest leaps in defensive rankings in the nation from 2022 to 2023, with Arizona improving from 124th in the nation in total defense in 2022 (467.7 yards per game) all the way to 48th last season (357.9 yards per game), an improvement of over 100 yards per game. Over that same span the Wildcats secondary jumped from four interceptions to nine and dropped their passing efficiency defense from 153.02 to 127.31, the latter of which represented a vault of 79 spots in the national rankings.
The Wildcats defensive improvements, particularly in the secondary, were a crucial piece of the team’s Alamo Bowl berth and victory over Oklahoma.
Before his time at Arizona, Arce spent the 2018-20 seasons in a defensive quality control role with USC, assisting with the Trojans safeties and linebackers. He was promoted into the role following two-plus years in a graduate assistant role with USC. Arce’s time with the Trojans included a Rose Bowl win over Penn State following the 2016 season and a Pac-12 Championship and Cotton Bowl berth in 2017.
Across all of his coaching stops, Arce has helped guide eight NFL Draft selections, including first round pick cornerback Adoree Jackson, second round pick outside linebacker Drake Jackson, and All-American and First Team All-Pro selection safety Talanoa Hufunga.
Arce’s coaching career has also included stops at his alma mater, Stony Brook, where he served in multiple roles, and West Hills Community College.
He is a two-time graduate from Stony Brook University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history in 2011 and a master's in liberal arts in 2012. During his early coaching years, Arce also logged time as an part-time history professor at West Hills Community College.
