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

When Kalen 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.”

The sell from Fisch should not be too difficult, with multiple Arizona staffers working at Washington in the past. Even before officially accepting the job, he made sure Seattle would be a place he wanted to work, turning to a few people for advice.

“When this opportunity came up on Saturday night, Sunday night, I spoke with Coach (Jimmie) Dougherty and Coach (Brennan) Carrol, Coach (Jordan) Paopao, about their experiences here,” Fisch said. “Living in Seattle, coaching at UW. What does that mean? What does that look like? ‘Tell me everything.'”

Fisch took over an Arizona program fresh off a 0-5 season in 2020, one that included a 70-7 loss to bitter in-state rival Arizona State. While Fisch started his tenure off with 1-11, it quickly got turned around and the Wildcats won 10 games in 2023 — the first double-digit win season for them since 2014 and just fourth all-time.

His job in Seattle will not be to rebuild but to continue on the momentum. Fisch believes retaining his coaching staff at a different job will be a huge reason why it can ultimately be accomplished.