More UW Huskies success may mean more Jedd Fisch rumors
"I would expect a lot of national conversation about all of these marquee jobs," Brock Huard says about if Jedd Fisch keeps leading the UW Huskies to wins.
UW Huskies coach Jedd Fisch interacts with fans before a 2025 game against Illinois. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The UW Huskies are in a pretty good spot right now.
A look at bowl projections for UW Huskies and WSU Cougars
At 6-2, the Huskies have only lost to No. 1 Ohio State and No. 21 Michigan, and they’re coming off of an impressive 42-25 win over then-No. 23 Illinois last Saturday. And with their next three games coming against 2-6 Wisconsin, 2-6 Purdue and 3-5 UCLA, there’s a very real possibility UW will go into its Nov. 29 rivalry game at Husky Stadium against No. 6 Oregon with a 9-2 record.
That would be great for the Huskies, but there’s also a concern it could create a kind of attention that the Dawgs wouldn’t want.
“If they do end up winning these next three games, getting to 9-2 and hosting the Ducks, what would you expect?” Mike Salk asked on Thursday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.
Replied longtime college football analyst and former UW Huskies quarterback Brock Huard: “I would expect a lot of national conversation about all of these marquee jobs.”
Huard was referring to marquee head coaching jobs, and the likelihood that second-year Huskies coach Jedd Fisch would be a candidate for some of them.
UW Huskies just shy of top 25 in latest AP college football poll
Huard’s response came a day after NBC Sports college football insider Nicole Auerbach joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy and addressed Fisch as a likely member of the coaching carousel at the end of this season.
“I wouldn’t be shocked if the schools that make a lot of sense for Jedd Fisch are interested or give him a call, or if he weighs those options,” Auerbach said.
Penn State, LSU and UCLA are programs that will be looking for a new coach, as will Florida, which is a school that has always been speculated to be of interest for Fisch. He is a Florida graduate, and he began his college coaching career in 1999 as a graduate assistant for the Gators under then-coach Steve Spurrier.
“I think that it will be the more they win, that will be more of the conversation,” Huard said of the Huskies and Fisch.
Brock Huard answers three football questions daily at 7:45 a.m. during Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, which airs live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays. Listen to Thursday’s Blue 88 here.
Brock breaks down UW Huskies QB Demond Williams Jr.’s NFL prospects
Related
Vita Vea not a Seahawks fit, but what about for their rivals?
Big Ten: No league title game if football moves to 24-team playoff
UW Huskies announce their new football play-by-play voice
Where UW Huskies rank in Big Ten preseason media poll
UW, WSU won’t play in men’s basketball this season, per report
Report: UW Huskies land transfer from another Big Ten school
Comments
1 Comments
Florida is the biggest threat but it's unlikely they want a journeyman program builder with only one winning season in the past 5 years. This season is trending in the right direction, but Florida expects more than one good season every 3 years. They want dominance and that's not part of Fisch's resume yet. Meanwhile, Fisch is getting buy in from players and donors. He is building momentum in Montlake which will require another season or two to come to fruition. It would be a mistake to give that up for a short leash starting over somewhere like Florida.
The Huskies should offer him an extension following Wisconsin similar to the Rhule extension at Nebraska-- 1) offer him a bump in guaranteed money over 5 years BUT require the same amount as a buyout, 2) performance incentives for top 10 recruiting class rank + conf championship + CFP + win percentage in conference. Write a contract that can give him Cignetti money if he achieves Cignetti results. Increase annual pay on a schedule so he has incentives to stay put. Give him job security in exchange for a reciprocal buyout that will keep him in Seattle long enough to actually build something. If he moves the program into the top 10 with recruiting and performance, his contract should reward his efforts.
His buyout goes from $10M this season to $6M next year. For programs paying $50M buyouts for fired coaches, this small of a buyout is an unconscionable oversight. Meanwhile UW would owe him $33.6M if he is fired. The only reason this is a conversation right now is because of poor contract drafting at UW, something which was also a problem with Deboer. The AD needs to fully utilize interns from the law school to draft better contracts. The contract also needs to contain a due diligence requirement to obtain work at market value to offset the contract in case of protracted poor performance (Penn State provision).