The Arizona Wildcats announced Jedd Fisch as their new head football coach on Wednesday.
Fisch is currently the New England Patriots’ quarterback coach and is well-traveled throughout the coaching ranks. He’s held nine different jobs in the college and pro ranks in 12 years. Where some would see that as problematic, Fisch sees that as opportunistic to help him get to the ultimate goal of becoming a head coach.
“The easy answer is none of those stops were to become a head coach,” Fisch said. “This is the stop to become a head coach, so there is nowhere else to go. This is where I want to be. That was the ultimate goal, the ultimate dream and really the only really path to get there for me.
“A lot of times, you wind up leaving a job either under circumstances or opportunity. I’ve had some incredible opportunities to learn and I, at the point in time, did not want to pass up those opportunities, so when this head coaching job was to arise, I was going to be ready and the most prepared I possibly could be.”
Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, Sean McVay, Steve Spurrier. Fisch certainly wins when it comes to coaching tree bingo.
But regardless of whether those frequent stops are an advantage or disadvantage, Fisch adopts a program with 12 straight losses, a roster that is hemorrhaging talent to the transfer portal and some very vocal alums who may have preferred the likes of San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan or ASU co-defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce.
The new head coach can’t really address the first two issues too much right off the bat, but he has already started the process of bridging Wildcat alumni to the new era of Arizona football.
Fisch was on a call with football alums prior to being introduced as the head coach and talked to the likes of Teddy Bruschi and Steve Kerr to learn more about the program.
No one can predict the job he will do or the success the program will or won’t have under his leadership, but he did come prepared, rattling many of the program’s head coaches in order and referencing prominent times and figures to wear the red and blue.
But research can only get you so far in college football. Ultimately winning and progress on the field will help with the support of past players and future recruits.
We will have to wait and see on that.
