The New Fisch in the Pond - By Bradley Beck

The University of Washington’s head football coach, Kalen DeBoer, has publicly announced that he will part ways with the Huskies. In his two years as the Head Coach of Washington, his record was 25-3. Compared to the 4-8 record the Huskies had just one season before DeBoer arrived, it is clear that he could turn the program around and make it into a top-tier football school. DeBoer’s overall career coaching record is an astounding 104-12. After the undefeated 2023-2024 season and leading the Huskies to a National Championship, Kalen DeBoer was offered a job as Head Coach at the University of Alabama. He knew it was an opportunity he couldn’t refuse, so he took the job and left Washington, leaving some large shoes to fill in the coaching staff. 

Photo: 24/7 Sports

However, UW was quick to pick up another recently-successful coach. UW recently announced that former head coach at the University of Arizona, Jedd Fisch, was chosen to man the ship in Seattle. At Arizona, Fisch turned their program around and led the Wildcats to an impressive 10-3 season, finishing the year with a bowl game win against the reputable Oklahoma Sooners. UW hopes that Fisch will offer a similar attitude to what DeBoer came in with. It will be interesting for UW fans to see how well DeBoer can fill the shoes of indubitably the greatest coach in college football history - Nick Saban. DeBoer also brought most of his former UW coaches to Alabama, so Fisch’s first issue to address at UW will be his own staff. Jedd Fisch has been welcomed to Seattle by many Husky fans and hopes to work with this new team. Both DeBoer and Fisch are each bringing the entirety of their former coaching staff with them, so most of UW’s coaches will move to Alabama with DeBoer, while the Arizona coaches will make their way up to Seattle with Fisch.

Photo: University of Arizona Athletics

But who is Jedd Fisch? He has spent the last few decades jumping from team to team as an assistant coach. Fisch started at the University of Florida and, from there, spent time coaching the Texans, Ravens, Broncos, University of Minnesota, Seahawks, University of Miami, Jaguars, University of Michigan, UCLA, Rams, and the Patriots before ending up with the head coaching role at Arizona. He has spent his last three years coaching down in Tucson, rebuilding a team on a 12-game losing streak before he took the reins. In his first year as Head Coach, the Wildcats were 1-11; the next season, they were 5-7, and finally, this season, they figured things out and were 10-3. He took one of the worst teams in FBS football and transformed it into one that ranked number 11 in the AP poll in just three years. During his tenure at Arizona, he didn’t use the transfer portal much. Instead, he developed a team of no-name recruits into a top-tier contender.

Photo: Mike Farrell Sports

Along with Arizona State and Utah, Arizona will be joining the Big 12 next season. Along with Fisch bringing his coaching staff to Seattle, several of his recruits are following him from Tucson. Former four-star QB Demond Williams will transfer from Arizona to Washington, claiming the choice was easy considering the “family feel that came over from Arizona.” Unfortunately for UW, DeBoer will do the same thing and take several Huskies to Tuscaloosa. But another wrinkle is that several Alabama recruits have de-committed because they hoped to play under Nick Saban. Although Kalen DeBoer’s salary has not yet been disclosed, his annual compensation is expected to exceed $10 million. Saban has the record for highest coaching salary at a slightly higher $11.4 million. So, it’s safe to say that Alabama trusts DeBoer to continue their decade-long dynasty. At UW, Jedd Fisch has agreed to a 7-year deal with the Huskies, raking in more than $7.75 million annually. 

Fisch will face an extremely competitive schedule next year with UW, facing off against teams like Michigan, USC, Penn State, and Oregon. However, Fisch is no stranger to any opponent, considering his experienced college coaching background in the Big 10 with Michigan and Minnesota. It will be a tall task for Jedd Fisch to adapt to this unfamiliar environment in Seattle and their recently instilled winning culture. Husky fans hope he will be here to stay and take last season’s energy into the new year.