Almost immediately after Jedd Fisch became the head coach of the UW Huskies in January 2024, there was speculation that it would just be a pit stop before he eventually moved on to coach his alma mater, Florida.
That speculation is now starting to ramp up.
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Florida is searching for the successor to Billy Napier, who was fired as Gators head coach in October after a 3-4 start. Lane Kiffin of Ole Miss appeared to be Florida’s primary target, but that has reportedly changed.
ESPN reported Friday that sources said Florida has “shifted focus” away from Kiffin after sensing “through irregular communication that he is interested in other options.”
With, Kiffin out of the mix, ESPN mentioned a few names as options for Florida: Jeff Brohm of Louisville, Jon Sumrall of Tulane, and Fisch.
It’s worth nothing that reports have only mentioned that Florida may have interest in Fisch, not that Fisch may have interest in going to Florida.
If you’re a Husky fan rooting for Fisch to stay on Montlake, there’s good news from The Associated Press, who reported Friday afternoon that Florida is targeting Sumrall to be its next coach.
If that ends up being the direction the Gators take, it does not necessarily mean UW will be out of the woods during the upcoming coaching carousel.
There has also been speculation this year that Fisch could be a candidate to coach UCLA. Fisch was the Bruins’ offensive coordinator in 2017 and received his first taste as a head coach when he served as UCLA’s interim coach at the end of that season after Jim Mora was fired.
If Fisch is going to be on the move this year, news could come quickly as the Huskies are set to wrap up the regular season with a 12:30 p.m. home game Saturday against rival Oregon, who are ranked No. 5 in the country.
Fisch dismissed rumors of him being a candidate for other coaching positions during one of his weekly Monday press conferences on Nov. 10.
“Myself, my family, we love coaching at the University of Washington, and the ridiculousness of people that want to claim that because my wife and daughters are living in Arizona, because I have a 16 year old who’s been in five different schools in the last eight years to finish her high school, has anything to do with my decision,” Fisch said.
He added that UW “spent a ton of money building this program the way we want to build it,” and spoke about the impact that the rumors can have on his staff’s efforts in recruiting and coaching.
“It affects our team, it affects our staff,” Fisch said. “My hope is that our players, our coaches, our families, understand how much we love it at Washington.”
UW is 8-3 this season and will have a postseason bowl game. The Huskies went 6-7 in 2024, Fisch’s first year at the helm.
A New Jersey native, the 49-year-old Fisch graduated from Florida in 1998 and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Gators in 1999. He has had a nomadic career in the decades since, which has seen him learn under coaching greats like Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks as quarterbacks coach in 2010, Jim Harbaugh as a Michigan assistant from 2015-16, and Bill Belichick as New England Patriots QB coach in 2020.
Fisch, who was at Arizona from 2021-23, has a career 31-32 record as a head coach.
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