Jedd Fisch on Washington: 'We are not going to rebuild'

After a wild week following the college football national championship game between the Michigan Wolverines and Washington Huskies, Kalen DeBoer has left for Alabama and the Jedd Fisch era is officially underway, as he assumes DeBoer’s mantle as Washington head coach.

During his introductory press conference, Fisch addressed a number of topics, including his plans and visions for the Huskies in 2024 and beyond. And according to the new Washington headman, he has no intention of tearing down what has already been built. The way Fisch sees it, there won’t be a ‘rebuild’ at Washington in 2024, but there will be ‘reconstruction.’

“I could not be more proud to be here and to build this program together,” said Fisch. “It is the most unique situation to take over a team that just finished No. 2 in the country and are 14-1. The job that was done here is fantastic and I understand that; I recognize that. We are not going to rebuild, but we are going to reconstruct.”

As Fisch continued his address, he briefly highlighted what he meant by the statement while also giving credit to the individuals present who helped build Washington up to its current stature.

“There’s a roster that has a lot of changes, there’s going to be a lot of new players, a lot of new faces, new coaches, new support staff. But this team, the team that did achieved some of the greatest accomplishments in all of college football deserves a ton of credit. And for all of you that are here, please give yourselves a hand you certainly deserve it.”

Fisch reveals how many Arizona coaches he wants to bring with him to Washington

DeBoer left Washington for Alabama, athletic director Troy Dannen had to move quickly. He ultimately landed on a former Pac-12 foe, hiring Jedd Fisch away from Arizona. Fisch is leaving after just three seasons in Tuscon and will now guide the Huskies into the Big Ten following a national championship appearance.

As usual in a coaching search, one of the first tasks is putting together a coaching staff. Fisch was asked how many people he wanted to bring to Washington from Arizona, saying it’s his goal for the majority to follow him. He credited his assistants for building up the culture and, ultimately, why the Wildcats were rebuilt in a short amount of time.

“One of the things Troy asked me when he interviewed me was ‘Tell me a little bit about your culture. I said ‘Not explainable, but transferable. Because it’s all about the people that made our culture.’ Our coaching staff in Arizona made the culture to win in Arizona,” Fisch said. “Those people are extremely important to me…

“It’s going to be our goal to get all of them here and to get that crew to stay together. We have some fantastic coaches, I hope all of them come with us. And we’re able to bring that comradery, the personal touch, the families all together and I think we will.”