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Former Arizona head football coach Jedd Fisch is ruffling feathers following his decision to leave for Washington. He’s seemingly taking a victory lap at the expense of the Wildcat faithful.
With complete disregard for his former employer, and it’s fanbase, he’s quickly gone from hero to villain in Tucson.
Fisch took over a winless Arizona squad in 2020 and turned it into a 10-win program just three seasons later. Expected to return in 2024 with a ton of production from his Top 15 team, the Wildcats were a dark horse to contend for a College Football Playoff spot.
That goal was on the head coach’s mind at the start of January as he voiced his dedication to the university in an appearance on the Jim Rome Show.
Unfortunately, those words rang hollow when he announced a plan to bolt for greener pastures.
Fisch will replace Kalen DeBoer, now the head coach at Alabama, taking over a program that’s fresh off a national championship appearance.
As if the swift decision wasn’t enough of a slap in the face, Fisch has almost gone out of his way to become the most hated man in Arizona.
Videos of Fisch giddily signing his Washington contract – in his Tucson residence nonetheless – quickly began circulating on social media.
The Top Dawg is a Done Deal @UW_Football #PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/bLhKI1cmWq
— Troy Dannen (@UWHuskies_AD) January 15, 2024
Shortly thereafter, reports of an extremely brief team meeting flooded online feeds.
That meeting, in which he informed Wildcat players of his decision to bail, lasted less than five minutes. He was then on his way to Seattle.
Players were reportedly, and justifiably, furious.
Jedd Fisch’s team meeting with the Arizona players and staff lasted for three minutes and will be heading to the airport to get on a plane for Seattle
— Jacob Seliga (@jacob_seliga) January 14, 2024
As if he just couldn’t help himself, he then continued rubbing the university’s nose in his new career move.
Jedd Fisch posts new profile picture in Washington gear.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/Hvv2sMiqUn
— Jedd Fisch (@CoachJeddFisch) January 15, 2024
He posted that picture with the Arizona logo still atop his X account username.
Talk about rubbing salt in the wound!
With the departure, the future is unclear in Tucson. Rather than build on the program’s best season in a decade, they’ll now hope to avoid a mass exodus in the transfer portal.
After being disrespected in that team meeting, there might not be many who follow their coach to UW.
As for Jedd Fisch, he now takes over a program that won 14 games and the PAC 12 as it transitions into the B1G. It’s probably a good thing the Huskies and ‘Cats won’t be in the same conference come 2024 as he’d likely have been greeted with a very un-warm welcome had the two teams faced off on the field next year.
There’s certainly no love lost between the two parties following all that’s transpired over the last few hours!