Jedd Fisch recalls "stressful" two hours before making transition to Washington leaving a "comfortable" Arizona job: "Is it easier to say NO"

Jedd Fisch was called up by the Washington Huskies to take over the program this offseason. But the catch was that he was given just two hours to decide if he wanted to take the job.

In a recent interview, the new Huskies head coach recalled those stressful two hours in which he decided to leave the Arizona Wildcats to travel to Seattle to become Kalen DeBoer’s successor.

Fisch spent three seasons in Arizona in his first job as a head coach at any level. While his first two seasons were forgetful, he managed to turn around the program in his third year. That was enough for him to get a call from Washington when DeBoer moved to Alabama.

Here is what the new Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch said:

“Well, stressful in a lot of ways. You almost… you start fighting with yourself saying ‘is it easier to say no? Is it easier not to move? Is it easier to go with okay I’m comfortable?’ And almost take the easy way out in a lot of ways,” Fisch told Andy Staples of On3.

“And then you start realizing all of the potential and the upside. And as I like to say ‘I’m gonna work just as hard at that job vs this job’. So if I’m gonna work just as hard, why would I not want to put myself in a position where we can be at a different level for the years to come,” he added.

Fisch will lead Washington in their first season in Big Ten after the program decided to move to the conference after playing in the Pac-12 since 1959. He will have big shoes to fill as his predecessor led the team to the national championship game in his final season in Seattle.

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A look at Jedd Fisch’s record in Arizona

Jedd Fisch joined the Arizona Wildcats in 2021 after leaving the quarterback coaching role under Bill Belichick at the New England Patriots. In his first two seasons, the Wildcats finished with a 1-11 and 5-7 record respectively. But his third season established his authority as a head coach at the collegiate level.

The Wildcats finished with a 9-3 overall record in the regular season in 2023, finishing third in the Pac-12. He then led the team to an Alamo Bowl win against the Oklahoma Sooners to finish the season on a high. So an upward trajectory for his team can be seen throughout his three seasons in Tucson. Now it remains to be seen how he does in Seattle.

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