According to a person with firsthand knowledge of the situation, Washington will hire Arizona’s Jedd Fisch to replace Kalen DeBoer as the Huskies’ next coach on Sunday.
Because Fisch was alerting his staff and Washington was still making an official announcement, the source spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to the source, Fisch has agreed to a seven-year contract with an average of $7.75 million each year.
Less than a week after winning the national title, the Huskies moved fast to fill the void left by DeBoer’s departure to Alabama.
Troy Dannen, the new athletic director at Washington, faced his first major decision since taking over in October, attempting to quickly provide stability for a football program coming off its finest season in more than three decades and headed for the Big Ten next season.
Fisch’s work at Arizona has gotten high praise. He took over a school that had fallen to the basement of the Pac-12 in 2021 and has the Wildcats vying for the conference crown this season. The Wildcats finished 10-3, finished third in the Pac-12, and defeated Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.
Fisch’s departure comes as Arizona attempts to shore up its financial woes ahead of its entry to the Big 12 next year.
Last Thursday, athletic director Dave Heeke proposed a strategy to assist the university in recovering from a $240 million miscalculation of estimated cash on hand. Hiring freezes and a halt to all big development projects are part of the plan, with the athletic department still obligated to repay a $55 million loan provided during the pandemic.
Fisch’s first head coaching job is in Arizona, where he has spent the majority of his coaching career as an assistant, including a stint in Seattle as quarterbacks coach for Pete Carroll and the Seahawks.
In three seasons with the Wildcats, he is 16-21.
Fisch, 47, is Washington’s fourth head coach since the start of the 2019 season. Chris Petersen announced his retirement from coaching at the end of the 2019 season. Defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake took over for Petersen but was sacked with two games left in his second season, prompting DeBoer to be hired after the 2021 season.
The capture of Fisch caps off a turbulent week for Washington.
The Huskies were defeated 34-13 by Michigan in the NCAA championship game last Monday, the first of five losses in five days. A large number of major contributors from the 14-1 squad declared for the NFL draft, including a few players who were expected to return in 2024.
The huge blow came on Friday, when DeBoer resigned after two seasons and 25 victories to take over at Alabama after Nick Saban retired. When DeBoer was hired, Washington supporters expected long-term stability, but his success in his first two seasons elevated him on the short list for the Crimson Tide job when Saban stepped down.
