Jedd Fisch reveals why he left Arizona to take Washington job

As newly hired Washington coach Jedd Fisch spoke at his introductory press conference Tuesday, he couldn’t say enough about how grateful he was. Of course, it was bittersweet for him as he also had to say goodbye to Arizona, where he had coached for the past three seasons.

Fisch took the Wildcats from 1-11 in his inaugural season to 10-3 this past year with an Alamo Bowl victory to top it all off. He admitted it was difficult to leave a program on the rise. However, the opportunity in Seattle was one he couldn’t pass up.

“I loved my time at U of A,” Fisch said. “I am truly grateful for the people there who believed in me and my vision of how to turn a program around and turn it into national prominence. I promised to leave the program better than I found it. We did that. We’re proud of that. For that, I will always be grateful to president (Robert) Robbins, to Dake Heeke, the athletic director at the University of Arizona, and the entire community.

“I did not take the decision to come to the University of Washington lightly. But once president (Ana Mari) Cauce and athletic director (Troy) Dannen showed me what is possible in Seattle and what their vision of the future looks like, there was no answer other than yes.”

Fisch is set to take over a Huskies team that won’t require the rebuild that Arizona did. Washington is in a position to win now, coming off of a national championship appearance and Pac-12 title victory. It also is in a unique opportunity to step even more into the college football spotlight as it moves to the Big Ten next season.

What excites Fisch even more than that, however, is knowing the rich history of the program. He spent several seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL and named a long list of former Huskies whom he either coached or coached against.

“Washington football has great history with great players,” he said. “Players like Lawyer Milloy, who I’ve been on the field with in Seattle. Steve Entman, Jake Locker, Budda Baker, who I went against year in and year out. Vita Vea, Taylor Rapp, who I was a part of drafting when I was with the LA Rams. Isaiah Stanback, who I got to coach when I was in Jacksonville. And Jermaine Kearse, to name a few.

“Washington has a great history of winning. 775 wins, 18 conference championships, 23 consensus All-Americans, 32 active NFL players and two national championships. But it’s not just about Washington football that brought us here. It’s the No. 2 ranked public university in the country and education matters. These kids are all student-athletes regardless of what we see or hear.”

Jedd Fisch’s staff is already starting to take place as he is set to bring his entire offensive staff from Arizona with him to Washington. That included offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll, the son of former Seahawks’ head coach Pete Carrol. Fisch worked with Pete Carroll as the quarterbacks coach for Seattle in 2010.

He’s happy to be close to his hold boss, whom he believes can be a valuable mentor as he hopes to keep the winning tradition at Washington alive.

“I chose this university because you believe that every year is a championship year,” Fisch said. “Winning in football is a priority in Seattle and as I look out and see what’s the future and I see the potential — I don’t know if coach Carroll is here, but I can tell you my opportunity to work for Pete Carroll and with the Seattle Seahawks — I know how important football here is at the University of Washington. I know how important football is in Seattle. I am so thrilled that coach Carroll is going to be a mentor close by and ready to help.”