Welcome back to all the uncertainty.
Welcome back to the “We can’t have nice things” stage of Arizona Wildcats football.
Say goodbye to Jedd Fisch.
Fisch on Sunday accepted the head coaching job at Washington, two days after Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer jumped to Alabama to replace the GOAT, Nick Saban. (Fisch signed his new contract in his Tucson home.)
It’s an absolute gut-punch for the Wildcats, who won their final seven games (including Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl), went 10-3 to achieve only the fourth double-digit victory season in school history, ended No. 11 in the AP Poll and couldn’t have possibly foreseen this coming just four days ago.
The Wildcats were set to be the favorite in their new conference digs, the Big 12, next season.
This is why all those way-too-early Top 25 rankings are … way too early.
Because, now, we don’t know nuthin’ about Wildcats football in 2024.
Fisch leaves after three seasons at Arizona, and for all the good he did in rebuilding the Wildcats after the miserable tenure of Kevin Sumlin, the job is unfinished, which is why this move is particularly painful.
Not many coaches would have had it better than Fisch at Arizona in 2024 – what with Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan and Jonah Coleman and Jonah Savaiinaea and Jacob Manu and Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock and Treydan Stukes …
That’s a legit Top 10 team, which in 2024 means a spot in the expanded college football playoff.
I doubt if any Wildcats fan would have minded if Fisch ran it back one more time with that group before starting to cash a bigger paycheck and taking the next step on his coaching journey.
But now that he’s traded in sun for multiple months of sideways rain in Seattle, what will the 2024 Arizona roster look like? The transfer portal now opens for 30 days for the Wildcats due to their head coach leaving.
You can hear the collective plea from Wildcats fans: Keep your hands off Fifita and McMillan, Jedd!
I don’t begrudge Fisch, or other coaches — or players — the chance to do what’s best for their careers. That’s what we all do. I didn’t expect him to stay at Arizona forever, or even beyond next season if the Wildcats turned in another excellent season, but he did tell Jim Rome just 10 days ago that “I have no interest in going anywhere.”
I know. I know. I don’t believe anything a coach says about a job, and this was before Saban’s retirement sent the coaching carousel on a wild spin. But, damn, that’s still a dagger, even from a coach whose whole career has been built on happily hopscotching to a new place.
I’m guessing it didn’t factor into his thought process, but he could have been an all-time legend if he had stayed and directed Arizona to another big season. As it is, check out social media if you dare to see the anger, disappointment and sadness to go along with the gratitude.
A source told me that Fisch initially turned down Washington.
Then the Huskies added some extra sugar to their deal.
Sigh.
What’s next for the Wildcats?
The program needs to be bigger than its head coach, but this is another slap in the face that tells us Arizona just ain’t that big. Washington has the money, the resources, will be playing in a bigger conference (Big Ten) and, as bolstered by its run to the national title game, a strong tradition.
It was a strong Fisch market in Seattle.
Fisch was in Year 2 of a restructured 5-year contract; Washington will have to pay Arizona a $5.5 million buyout, per details of the contract.
I was asked in a radio interview just this week if it felt like the Wildcats program was in a sustainable place for the first time in a quarter century. Not really, I said. The good times don’t go on forever. That’s how it always is. But at least it was fun while it lasted with Fisch. Football was relevant in Tucson thanks to Fisch.
But what happens now?
Well, that’s the thing. Who else is leaving? Which recruits are still coming? Who the heck will be coaching this team in 2024?
It’s not the end of the world, but it is the beginning of all the uncertainty.
Bye, Jedd.
Jedd Fisch was all smiles after the Arizona Wildcats beat Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
