If you ask Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege, his playing career doesn't hold a candle to Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita. 

"Noah is way better than me," Doege told CBS Sports. "But I think the thing he respects about my experience is I can see it through his lens." 

This season alone, Fifita has taken over as the program leader in passing yards and wins in Tucson. He has thrown for at least 275 yards and two touchdowns during a five-game winning streak to help the Wildcats return to the national elite. He leads the Big 12 with a 74.2 completion percentage and a 174 passer rating. 

However, Doege had a prolific career of his own at Texas Tech. Recruited by Mike Leach to run the Air Raid, the West Texas native threw for a combined 8,200 yards and 67 touchdowns. 

"He always tries to be modest and say he wasn't able to play at the level I play at," Fifita said. "All of that stuff is just lies." 

But when Doege first came to Arizona in 2025, he found Fifita at the lowest moment of his football career. He questioned whether he could even play at this level. Fifita needed Doege to show him the way. 

"Coach Doege changed my life," Fifita said. "He saved my football career. In a way, I'll never be able to repay him." 

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Brad Crawford

Finding a fit

Doege swung through the coaching ranks after his playing career, including stints at USC under Clay Hilton and Ole Miss under Lane Kiffin. In 2024, Charles Huff gave Doege his first playcalling opportunity at Marshall, and the Thundering Herd won their first conference title in 10 years. 

Offers came through for Doege's services, even with only one year of playcalling success. But when Arizona came calling, Doege felt drawn to Tucson. 

"This one just felt right because of Coach [Brent] Brennan, and because I knew Noah," Doege said. "If I could keep him, I felt like he was the perfect fit for what I wanted to do on offense." 

Doege recruited Fifita at Servite High School in Anaheim, California, and begged USC's staff to give him a chance. He regarded Fifita as the best thrower of the football in Southern California, but the politics of recruiting quarterbacks meant swinging on an underrecruited, undersized quarterback at USC was out of the question. 

Instead, Fifita joined high school teammates Tetairoa McMillan, Keyan Burnett and Jacob Manu at Arizona. As a redshirt freshman, he unseated incumbent quarterback Jayden de Laura and led the Wildcats to a historic 10-win season, proving Doege's evaluation right in the process. 

But after coach Jedd Fisch suddenly left for Washington, the program was left without direction. The first-year coach, Brennan, tried to keep the legacy core happy while putting his stamp on the program, but it didn't work. The Wildcats dropped from 10 wins to four, and from No. 8 in passing offense to No. 42. 

Fifita played his worst football, and it raised the same questions again. Could he really thrive at this level? Were his best days behind him?

After the disappointing season, Brennan drew a line in the sand. He only wanted people who wanted to be part of Arizona football in the building. And he started with the fresh-faced offensive coordinator Doege. 

Building a relationship

Immediately, Doege and Fifita saw themselves in each other. They bonded over family and their serious but fun-loving approach to football. They shared many of the same values and goals. 

"There's an attraction among people, right? That's why people get married or become best friends," Doege said. "There was an attraction that me and Noah had to each other. We see the game through the same lens, laugh at the same jokes. If we were the same age, we'd probably be best friends." 

To start, Doege saw everything Fifita was. He didn't get bogged down in what Fifita lacked. Fifita might be short, but it didn't show up in his game. His batted-ball rate wasn't any higher than taller quarterbacks, and he saw the field with tremendous vision. There was no need to handcuff him. 

During an early film session, Doege brought up a batted Fifita pass. If he finds a way around the defender, it's a 60-yard touchdown. Fifita braced, assuming Doege was going to grill him, to claim he should have found a way around it. Instead, he told Fifita, 'Man, you did everything right on this play. The defender just happened to get a hand on it.' 

"It's eliminating the ego of, 'I called a good play and the quarterback screwed it up,'" Doege said. "No, the quarterback didn't screw it up. It's just part of the game." 

Then, there was the schematics and game planning. From the start, Doege tried to give Fifita answers. While he grew up in the Air Raid tree, he describes his offense as more of a flex or pro-style raid, using Air Raid passing concepts with plenty of different formations and a pro-style running game. 

With the All-American McMillan gone, more emphasis was put on Fifita's exceptional processing and decision-making. During the disappointing 2024 season, only three wide receivers posted 20 receptions for the Wildcats as McMillan dwarfed everyone else's target share. In 2025, that jumped to six. 

"The dude can be really special; he just needs a plan," Doege said. "He needs it to be detailed, and it needs to have answers. Year 2 [as a starter], he didn't feel like he always had that going into games." 

It took a few weeks to settle in, but Fifita was rolling by October. Over a four-game period, Fifita threw 11 touchdowns to zero interceptions. He led a five-game winning streak to end the year and get into the Big 12 title race, including a 23-7 win over rival Arizona State. 

In one offseason, Fifita jumped from 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to 29 touchdowns and six interceptions, beating even his 10-win campaign. 

Playing his best

Even after his frustrating sophomore season, Fifita never considered leaving Arizona. Now, his loyalty is paying off with the greatest season of his historic career. 

Under Doege's tutelage, Fifita has been one of the best quarterbacks in college football. The senior is throwing for 295 yards per game, the seventh-best mark in college football. He ranks as one of only 11 Power Four quarterbacks throwing for at least 9.0 yards per attempt, and joins Drew Mestemaker as the only one to do so on at least 32 attempts per game. 

"I think the national narrative around Noah is slow and late to the game," Brennan said. "I think just his consistent level of play has been outstanding and speaks to who he is. It speaks to the trust we have in him and his relationship with Coach Doege. For him to not be talked about as one of the absolute best quarterbacks, best players in the country right now, I don't understand that.

"He's special, and it should be broadcast on every station in the world about how awesome he is." 

Now in their second season together, Doege and Fifita's bond has only grown. The pair supports each other in the film room, but their love and affection extend to their families as well. 

One week, Fifita beat Doege to pay for breakfast while they were out together with their families. Later that day, Fifita took his fiancé and several offensive linemen out to his favorite Teppanyaki restaurant -- a Sunday night tradition. When he went to pay, the restaurant turned him down. Doege had already called to pay hours earlier. 

"That bill was crazy," Fifita laughed. 

Arizona is up to 6-1 and No. 22 in the country. On Saturday, Doege returns to Lubbock for the first time as an opposing coach. The Wildcats face No. 13 Texas Tech, the reigning Big 12 champions and new standard-bearer in the conference. A decade after his playing career, both his parents and in-laws still live there, and his grandparents wear the Block T every day in support of their beloved Red Raiders. 

Doege and Fifita will don blue and red as they attempt to pull a major upset and crash the Big 12 title race. The Wildcats are 15-5 over their last 20 games, but have not played for a conference title since 2014. 

It can all swing in Lubbock, where the story began. 

"There's something extra for me, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't," Doege said. "Not because I have any animosity, but I have somebody I truly love at quarterback, and I would love for him to go win at that place. I would love for him to win on the turf that was blood, sweat and tears for me. 

"For whatever reason, as weird as it sounds, that would be special for me."