New Washington Coach Had Reporters Cracking Up With Honest Husky Stadium Admission

Jedd Fisch is in his first official day on the job at Washington, but he has plenty of experience coaching games up in Seattle, having spent time with UCLA and most recently Arizona in his career.

During his introductory press conference, Fisch admitted that Husky Stadium hasn’t been very kind to him, in a moment that had members of the media laughing.

During the presser, Fisch was asked if he’s thought about what it will be like to emerge from the Husky Stadium tunnel as Washington’s coach for the first time.

“Well, I haven’t had much fun in this stadium to be honest with you,” Fisch said, drawing laughter. 

Fisch dipped into the memory banks, citing the 2017 game when his quarterback at UCLA, Josh Rosen, was concussed by UW star defensive lineman Vita Vea. He then brought up Arizona’s 49–39 shootout loss to the Huskies in 2022.

Now, Fisch sees the natural beauty of Husky Stadium, which famously looks out over Union Bay.

“I would say that you do always imagine, and I have the greatest office view, probably of all time,” Fisch said. “And when you look out there and you see that stadium and you see the water, and you know that every seat is going to be full. You can just imagine what that’s going to feel like. And running out of the tunnel and what that’s going to feel, that very first game—the jitters, both calling the game and running out the tunnel—is going to be at a high end. But we’re going to be excited about it, and can’t wait.”

Has @CoachJeddFisch thought about coming out of the tunnel for that first home game?

The new @UW_Football coach offers an honest answer here. ????#PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/7h71OAYb9Q

— Washington on BTN (@WashingtonOnBTN) January 16, 2024

Fisch takes over for Kalen DeBoer, who parlayed Washington’s run to the national championship game to the job at Alabama, where he replaces the retired Nick Saban. 

He led an impressive rebuild at Arizona, one of the Pac-12’s worst programs when he took over. After a 1–11 first season in 2021, he elevated the team to 5–7 in year two, and 10–3 with an Alamo Bowl win over Oklahoma and a No. 11 final ranking in ’23.

He has plenty of experience in the Pac-12 and against Washington. Beginning with his stint as UCLA offensive coordinator in 2017, he is 0–4 against Washington and 0–2 at Husky Stadium. 

Of course, those bad memories should quickly give way to good ones, assuming the Huskies get off to a quick start in 2024. His first game at his new home stadium is slated for Aug. 31, when Washington hosts FCS foe Weber State.