Jedd Fisch affirms commitment to Huskies: ‘We love it at Washington’

My take:

Sounds like Judd's agent told him nobody is interested.

Article from Seattle Times:

By Andy Yamashita

For weeks, Jedd Fisch has carefully avoided speaking about his long-term future. The Washington coach frequently mentioned simply being focused on the week ahead and trying to stay focused on the season at hand. 

A week ago, for example, Fisch said he hadn’t engaged in any discussions with UW athletics administrators about a contract extension. 

“We haven’t talked about any of that,” he said Nov. 3. “We’re just focused on beating Wisconsin.”

But Fisch — coming off a surprising 13-10 defeat against Wisconsin — addressed his status at Washington on Monday. The 49-year-old coach, in his second season leading the Huskies, publicly affirmed his happiness on Montlake and dismissed reports linking him to other college football coaching jobs. 

“They just want to tie coaches to lists and then we have to sit there and defend it,” Fisch said Monday, “rather than just be able to tell our fans that our players, our coaching staff, myself, my family — we love coaching at the University of Washington.”

Fisch, who is 12-10 during his UW tenure, also addressed his family’s decision to move back to Arizona. He explained his wife and daughters returned to the southwest so that his children can finish high school in one place after moving frequently because of his job. He said his 16-year-old daughter Ashlee has attended five different schools during the past eight years. 

The Washington coach said it was ridiculous to assume that decision had anything to do with his potential future in Seattle. Newsweek’s Jordan Sigler, citing an anonymous 247Sports.com report and a different story by 247Sports reporter Grant Hughes, wrote Fisch was seeking an exit from UW in a story Nov. 6. Fisch did not directly address the Newsweek article, but said people listing him as a top coaching candidate for other programs “have no idea what’s going on.”

“Honestly,” the UW coach said, “they don’t know what’s happening in our program.”

Fisch spoke glowingly about the support he’s received at Washington. The Huskies renovated the football weight room before his first season in 2024. Built a new recovery room. Overhauled their nutrition program. Updated the recruiting lounge. Refreshed team meeting rooms and coaching offices. Fisch said he’s been granted a large amount of influence on how the spaces have been remade. 

“I don’t think they would know how I enjoy coaching here,” he said. “That we spent a ton of money into building this program the way we want to build it.”

Fisch said he’s extremely excited about the program’s future, too. The Huskies (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) remain a young team — 51 of its scholarship players are sophomores by eligibility or younger. 

Washington is starting two freshmen wide receivers, Dezmen Roebuck and Raiden Vines-Bright, and a freshman offensive lineman, left guard John Mills while getting significant snaps from fellow freshmen like cornerback Dylan Robinson, safety Rylon Dillard-Allen, linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale and wide receiver Chris Lawson. UW’s 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked 19th nationally by 247Sports composite ranking. 

And Fisch, who has never spent more than four seasons in any location during his two-and-a-half decades coaching football, asserted sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. has a chance to become one of the greatest signal callers to ever wear purple and gold. 

“He’s 19; he’s a sophomore,” Fisch said. “He’s going to continue to get better. And every day he goes out and plays great, that doesn’t mean you should expect that every single game he plays. Just like if he struggles in a game, you shouldn’t expect that every game. I continue to see him get better and better and better.

“I think he’s one of the best players that I’ve ever coached at the position, and I’m looking forward to continuing to watch his growth each week and how he comes back this Saturday, next Saturday, the next Saturday after that will all be great indicators of the future success he will have with us.”

This season, Fisch has been connected to two jobs in particular. He was mentioned as a potential option for UCLA, where he served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2017, by On3’s Pete Nakos Oct. 9. He’s also been included on lists for the open coaching job at Florida — his alma mater — most notably by ESPN’s Heather Dinich Oct. 20.  

UCLA fired coach DeShaun Foster Sept. 14 part way through his second season in Los Angeles. Florida dismissed fourth-year coach Billy Napier Oct. 19. Fisch’s buyout is currently set at $10 million according to his contract, acquired by The Seattle Times. But it drops to $6 million in January, 2026. 

Fisch said appearing on lists as a potential coaching option for other schools has impacted recruiting and other areas of the program. So he clarified his position Monday. 

“It affects our team,” he said. “It affects our staff. My hope is that our players, our coaches, our families understand how much we love it at Washington.”

Notes

• Washington’s injury situation remains in flux after losing several players against Wisconsin on Saturday, Fisch said. Senior running back Jonah Coleman (knee), junior wide receiver Denzel Boston (ankle), junior right tackle Drew Azzopardi (lower leg), redshirt freshman defensive back Rahshawn Clark (hyperextended knee) and sixth-year safety Makell Esteen (undisclosed) are all questionable this week against Purdue. 
• UW expects to get redshirt freshman running back Jordan Washington (illness) back this week against Purdue, Fisch said. Additionally, Fisch said junior center Landen Hatchett (hand) will get a new cast and attempt to play Saturday after he was unable to complete the game against Wisconsin. 
• Every single Big Ten game for Nov. 22 was put on a six-day hold by the conference and its television partners Monday, including Washington’s game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles. The Huskies announced they will be slotted into either the 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. kickoff slots.

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