Jedd Fisch -- Deny Today, Depart Tomorrow?
Comments
-
Swing and a whiff
-
Facts rarely matter around these parts …
Strawman arguments are made all the time with people acting like they aren't making those types of arguments
Fisch isn't a perfect coach … if he was he'd likely not be at UW
Too many here treat Fisch as if he's horrific … he isn't
-
Get fucked
-
You're completely missing the point
Many of the issues that you argued about in your initial post and the comments of many around here are far deeper than who the sitting HC is at UW
If you want to say that DeBoer was that guy … UW clearly didn't offer the money or have the positioning to retain such a coach when Alabama came calling. Is that because UW lowballed? Is that because they don't stack up against Alabama? Is the answer somewhere in the middle?
If Fisch was offered the Michigan job he would have taken it is the consensus - right? Many would just say good riddance and just start over while demanding that things were improved versus what Jedd left behind … but why would Michigan want a coach that so many here think is not good enough?
There are some material structural issues tied into UW's future ability to compete that need to be solved that are far more pressing than who the head coach is. The Athletic Department is fucking dogshit until it proves it isn't. There's a big time donor gap that needs to be solved (particularly the younger donors). There needs to be progress made on securing a donor that is willing to fund "fuck you" money to compete with the countless other schools that offer "fuck you" money … including the school down South.
The game has changed and player acquisition is far more important than the coach at this point. Ideally you get both. But if you can't bring the quantity AND quality of players into the program to compete at the top levels then your HC doesn't matter AT ALL.
-
-
He’s not horrific
He’s mediocre. -
Probably is important to define what mediocre is
People look at what he did at Arizona and they either read too much into it or discount too much of it.
The reality of what he did at Arizona is steady yearly increases:
Year 1 (2021): 1-11 (inherited a horrific roster from the back end of the Kevin Sumlin era; 4-8 in 2019 and 0-5 in 2020); -171 point differential
Year 2 (2022): 5-7; -68 point differential
Year 3 (2023): 10-3; +176 point differential
Fisch didn't take on the complete nuclear bomb that the Arizona situation was but took on about as bad of a situation as you could take on for a program that just played for the National Title with DeBoer's departure and the gutting of the roster. We're seeing similar trendlines to what Fisch did at Arizona …
Year 1 (2024): 6-7; -5 point differential
Year 2 (2025): 9-4; +200 point differential
It's easy to point out everything that was less than ideal over the last 2 years. The progress is fairly obvious though no matter how you slice it. The big question is is there a jump in 2026 comparable to the 2022 to 2023 leap Fisch at Arizona or more muted.
The recruiting results have been fairly strong so far. Players brought in from Fisch's Arizona class have played, played early, and been productive. His first full class at Washington had a number of players that saw the field this year as true freshman and proved to be players. The 2026 class is ranked as high as the top end of Petersen's classes and will have players playing early in big roles next year.
So when we're talking about what mediocre looks like … probably need to define what that looks like. What I've laid out isn't mediocre. I wouldn't call it elite because Fisch has never competed at the top levels as a head coach. But what he has done in his 2 jobs as a head coach is showing himself capable of materially raising the bar of what he took over and build it to a high functioning team.
The only possible reason to consider Fisch mediocre based off of his 2 years at UW is if you're comparing his 2 years to DeBoer's 2 years and considering them comparable. They aren't. DeBoer inherited a bunch of high-end NFL Day 1 and Day 2 NFL picks recruited by Petersen. DeBoer's recruiting was very "mediocre" and it left the roster that Fisch inherited a shell of what DeBoer was working with.
But whatever … glass is always on the empty side with the vast majority of people here with regard to Fisch and many here won't be happy until Fisch LEAVES so that they can be RIGHT
-
I didnt read any of this but I get the sense you apply TCU standards to UW
-
Actually … I didn't
I have a ton of disdain for the mediocrity that is Sonny Dykes … I didn't like that hire from Day 1 knowing what he'd eventually turn the program into
The trip to the CFP Title Game in 2022 was a perfect storm of good players from Patterson's recruiting that got the uplift in "culture" that came from a kindler gentler coach similar to the one that UW got under Slick Rick from Lambright
Problem is that you have to eventually sustain a program with your own efforts and Sonny is a buffoon
Anybody that follows me on Twitter/X has seen the #FireSonnyDykes on a semi-regular basis
I have high expectations for UW but UW vs TCU right now is an apples and oranges conversation as the differences between living in the Big10 and the Big12 is vastly different in the world's that you compete in and what's possible
In the Big10 being the 5th or 6th best team in the conference very well may mean that you're a Top 10 or 15 team nationally. In the world of the old conference world in the PAC, being in that range was not necessarily viewed as a disappointment … it almost always meant that you're in contention to win the conference in November.
The world has changed … adjusting viewpoints on what success looks like also needs to evolve as well.
-
UW was the best team in the combined PAC/B1G in 2016 and the second best in 2023 and 2018. Down years being 6th is one thing but it's bizarre to say UW can't be a top tier team in the current B1G
