Like one of his mentors, new Arizona coach Jedd Fisch is using social media in a playful – yet instructive – way.
On Sunday, as Pete Carroll might, Fisch tweeted a riddle: What do NFL tight ends Will Dissly and Drew Sample have in common?
The answer, which Fisch didn’t tweet, is that both attended the University of Washington, where they were coached by Jordan Paopao. So don’t be surprised if Paopao, who spent the 2020 season at UNLV, is one of the additions to the Wildcats’ staff announced Monday.
Fisch dropped an even subtler hint in another tweet Sunday night, referencing a conversation with two of his former players about one of their ex-teammates. The players pictured were former Oregon State standouts and L.A. Rams Sean Mannion and Brandin Cooks.
That could indicate that former Beavers wide receiver Kevin Cummings, who's been the receivers coach at San Jose State the past four seasons, also could be joining the UA staff.
On Saturday, Fisch tweeted a picture of a trading card featuring former NFL running back Scottie Graham, who is expected to be named the UA’s running backs coach.
Another name to keep an eye on is Jimmie Dougherty, who worked with Fisch at Michigan and UCLA. Dougherty has spent the past four seasons as the Bruins’ receivers coach. He played quarterback at Missouri and likely would coach that position here.
Paopao played under Jim Harbaugh at San Diego and began his coaching career under him at Stanford. Doughtery and Fisch also worked for Harbaugh.
A casualty of Washington’s coaching change last offseason, Paopao coached Washington’s tight ends for nine seasons as a graduate assistant (2011-12) and full-time assistant (2013-19). He served as UNLV’s tight ends coach and special-teams coordinator this past season.
