Washington coach Jedd Fisch pushed back against the notion he wants to leave for another job, which was fueled in part because his family isn't living with him while his daughter finishes high school in Arizona.
Fisch, responding Monday to a question about being included on candidate lists for other jobs, said the authors of such lists "have no idea what's going on, honestly." The second-year Huskies coach outlined his excitement about quarterback Demond Williams Jr., other promising young players on the roster and the investments Washington has made in its program.
The 49-year-old Fisch has coached for 11 different college or NFL teams since 2008, never spending more than three seasons at one spot. He has been included on candidate lists for the coach opening at UCLA, where he was offensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2017, and Florida, his alma mater, as well as other jobs. Fisch still has ties with top UCLA donor Casey Wasserman.
A main reason fueling the speculation is that Fisch's wife and three daughters have remained in Arizona, where Jedd Fisch coached from 2021 to 2023 before taking the Washington job.
"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.
Fisch is 12-10 at Washington and has five years remaining on a contract that pays him an average of $7.75 million per year. He told reporters last week that he hasn't had discussions with Washington about a new contract or an extension.
But in his most extensive comments about his situation Monday, Fisch noted that Washington has "spent a ton of money building this program the way we want to build it," and that he has been directly involved in plans for facilities enhancements.
He said his name appearing on candidate lists impacts recruiting and other areas.
"It affects our team, it affects our staff," he said. "My hope is that our players, our coaches, our families, understand how much we love it at Washington."