Washington football’s Jedd Fisch breaks silence on building trust after shocking Arizona departure

With the departure of Kalen DeBoer from the Washington football program, the Huskies were left to find a coach who could continue building the program and keep the high standards that had been constructed. They landed on Arizona’s Jedd Fisch, who had been with the Wildcats for three seasons. Fisch spoke on his abrupt departure from Arizona, choosing to leave to UW after a historic season for the Wildcats.

“It has been a whirlwind few days. I loved my time at U of A. … I promised to leave the program better than we found it. We did that. We’re proud of that. … I did not take the decision to come to University of Washington lightly,” said Fisch, per Justin Spears at the Tuscon Star.

Fisch suddenly left the Arizona football program. Despite constantly saying he wanted to build something special in Tuscon, he left on the first turn, leaving players in the Wildcat program to publicly criticize his departure. Just like players though, coaches will jump at an opportunity if they see progress for their future and Fisch made that decision when Washington football made the call.

“I understand that I’m going to have to earn our players trust. I understand that I am going to have to earn the communities trust.”..we will give it all we have every day for hopefully a very long time,” per Dave Mahler at 93.3 KJR radio.

He can be a great fit for a program that’s expecting double-digit win seasons at this point. In his first year with Arizona, Fisch led the Wildcats to a 1-11 win season, just after an 0-5 year in 2020. He turned that into a 10-3 record in 2023 with incredible production on both sides of the ball. This is a solid acquisition for Washington football, but players may be cautious of Fisch’s next move.