Jedd Fisch describes two-hour stretch of deciding on Washington job

Jedd Fisch spent three seasons at Arizona, before leaving for the Washington job in January. It was a decision that wasn’t an easy one and had to be made quickly after Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama.

Fisch recently chatted with On3’s Andy Staples about the decision and the two-hour stretch he had to make it.

“Well, stressful in a lot of ways,” Jedd Fisch said. “You start fighting with yourself of saying is it easier to say no? Is it easier not to move? Is it easier to just go with, ‘OK, I’m comfortable.’ And almost take the easy way out in a lot of ways.”

While Fisch did consider staying put at Arizona, ultimately he decided that the opportunity to coach at Washington was too good to pass up.

“You start realizing all of the potential and the upside. And as I like to say, I’m going to work just as hard at that job versus this job,” Jedd Fisch said.

“So if I’m going to work just as hard, why would I not want to put myself in a position where we can be at a different level for the years to come that will be able to have certain resources through the Big Ten with multi-media rights, that will have a certain schedule that is just hard to compete with when you’re playing all of these elite teams and elite programs week in and week out.”

Washington is making the move to the Big Ten for 2023-24, while Arizona is heading to the Big 12. The Big Ten and SEC are the two power conferences that everyone else is trying to keep up with at the moment thanks to their TV deals.

Still, leaving for Washington wasn’t an easy decision.

“It was really hard. It’s emotional. You’ve got to fight your brain with your heart in a lot of ways,” Fisch said. “And then in the end, you make a decision and your wife and kids are on board with it. Or if they’re not on board with it, you can’t make the decision. And then you’ve gotta go.

“I’ve said it numerous times, they don’t let you spend a lot of time talking about the why or the who or the what. You’ve just gotta do it.”

Fisch did and now believes he’s in an excellent spot in Washington. The Huskies will begin the 2024 season on Aug. 31 against Weber State.