Arizona to hire Michigan analyst Keith Dudzinski to coach linebackers, split special teams with Jordan Paopao

The Arizona Wildcats have hired final full-time assistant football coach, bringing in a veteran college assistant with ties to the UA’s new defensive coordinator.

Keith Dudzinski will be Arizona’s linebackers coach, making him the 10^th member of new head coach Jedd Fisch’s staff.

Dudzinski will also split special teams coaching duties with new tight ends coach Jordan Paopao. Dudzinski will coach the defensive special teams and Paopao will coach the offensive special teams, Fisch said. Both have handled those duties in the past.

Dudzinski spent the 2020 season as a defensive analyst with Michigan, working under then-Wolverines defensive coordinator Don Brown, who is now in charge of Arizona’s defense. The duo have also worked together at Massachusetts and Northeastern, with Brown serving as head coach and Dudzinski a part of the defensive staff.

Fisch likened them to Batman and Robin in this tweet:

A former linebacker at Division II New Haven (Conn.), Dudzinski has been coaching at the collegiate level for 30 years, including a stint as a defensive coordinator and associate head coach at Albany.

With all the on-field coaching positions filled, here’s how Arizona’s staff looks:

• Head coach: Jedd Fisch
• Offensive coordinator/Offensive line: Brennan Carroll
• Running backs: Scottie Graham
• Wide receivers: Kevin Cummings
• Tight ends/special teams: Jordan Paopao
• Defensive coordinator: Don Brown
• Defensive line: Ricky Hunley
• Linebackers/special teams: Keith Dudzinski
• Cornerbacks: DeWayne Walker
• Safeties: Chuck Cecil