By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

QUICK TAKES FROM THE JEDD FISCH PRESS CONFERENCE

The Washington Huskies football program took a  major step in healing and rebuilding by hiring Jedd Fischer as its next head coach. Fisch spoke to the media and Husky  Nation for the first time Tuesday morning.



“We wanted somebody with energy, passion, enthusiasm, somebody who wasn’t going to change the culture because the culture is wonderful. But who was going to build upon it, enhance the culture that we already have, “ said Dannen.” I wanted somebody that was going to push each and every one of us someplace we’ve never been pushed before. I think it’s really, really important.”

 COST OF GETTING THEIR MAN

The contract for Dannen was lower than what Dannen and School President Ana Mari Cauce offered Kalen DeBoer which made it favorable to the school’s budget. For Fisch, the $7.5 million per year with gradual increases more than doubled what he was earning at Arizona.

MOVING FORWARD

With a favorable contract in hand, a program bigger than Arizona it was obvious by Fisch’s opening comments that  Washington was the next step up.

“Wow. Thank you. It’s a little unique. The last time I had a press conference to be a head coach it was on Zoom during COVID, so it didn’t look anything like this. This is special, but it’s also special because of where we are and who we’re with and the people that are surrounding us today. The views are incredible, the building is beautiful, and being here in Seattle is awfully special.

“I want to start with this; today is a special day and a culmination of 23 years of hard work. Today is a day filled of emotions, though because it represents a new beginning. Rarely in life does one have to leave someone or something that they love, but 48 hours ago that is something my family and I did. We did it so we could join the Husky family. I’m excited to be a part of this university. And my wife Amber, our daughters Ashlee and Kendall, Zaylee, who is not here – are all just as excited to be a part of this vibrant community and we want to thank you, Troy, for bringing us here. President Cauce, thank you. Thank you for that phone call on Sunday. I just appreciate you guys for believing in us.

“We are here for the W. The W for winning. The W for work. The W for Washington. And will give it everything we have. Sustained success is critical in college football. The ability to each and every year, compete for championships. The ability for each and every year, to be able to at the top of your conference, at the top of the nation. The University of Washington allows that opportunity.



HOW LONG WILL YOU STAY COACH?

Fisch was asked the question of how long he will coach at Washington given the ever-rotating coaching carousel.

 “That’s always the problem, right? You can’t be right. You can’t be wrong, with whatever you say. I know that comment’s always going to be made: is it a destination job? I would answer it this way: the Big Ten, the SEC, right now, is leading the football pathways. The college football landscape is about getting to the CFP. There’s 12 teams that are going to compete every year, starting next year, in the College Football Playoff. If you look at which teams traditionally are going to compete, it’s the same 12 to 14 teams. The University of Washington is one of those 12 or 14 teams. That’s why we coach.

We coach to be able to take a seat at that table and to be able to give yourself a chance every single year, with resources beyond belief, with an opportunity to go out there with a fan base that’s dying to continue to win, that has won national championships. The idea of staying is why you come. The idea of being here is to win championships, and that’s all I can promise, that we’re going to be here every single day doing everything we can to win a championship, knowing that Washington has the opportunity to do that every year.”

RETAINING CURRENT PLAYERS

One of Fisch’s first major recruiting jobs will not be out of the program but retaining current players who are contemplating their future.

“It’s certainly an interesting situation here, because I believe there are 17 players in the (transfer) portal from this roster. There’s 9 or 10 players that have declared for the NFL draft. You probably have the most amount of players that are going to get drafted in the NFL coming from the University of Washington in this year’s draft. So we know it’s going to be a completely different football team in 2024 than what the community saw in 2023. It’s our job to be able to put together the best product. It’s our job to do everything we possibly can in what has become a very strange football calendar.

The transfer portal has closed in regards to the next time it opens is in April. The early signing date has caused about 90% of the high school students to sign early. So the availability of scholarship players is going to be interesting to say the least. But we don’t just recruit for one year. We recruit for the eternity of college football. We are going to recruit for a program that … we are gonna go out here tomorrow or the next day and build a (2025) class to try to make it the best possible recruiting class it can be. And then we’re going to see what happens over the course of these next couple weeks. I’m hoping to retain this team the best we can, and then if there are other available players in the portal, we’re going to look at those as well. But what it comes down to is we want to maniacally recruit daily as long as we are here. We are going to recruit the ’25 class, the ’26 class, the ’27 class, the ’28 class and continue to try to build a roster we can all be very proud of.”

BIG PICTURE

 Fisch took over an Arizona program that was winless before he arrived and went 1-11 in 2021, 5-7 in 2022, and 10-3 last season. It’s a small but remarkable sample size. The turnaround shows that Fisch is a good communicator and able to recruit decent players. The ability to connect with the players is off high importance and Fisch looks the part. The biggest question is consistency. Can Fisch consistently win against the Big Schools in the Big Ten no pun intended.

 Can he bring the best out of his players on the big stage?  Only time will tell. For the moment Fisch was the best available hire out there and created a perfect marriage for  Washington and Fisch. How long the marriage will last? Let’s concentrate on the honeymoon and see how long that lasts.

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