Arizona football coaching search: With Jedd Fisch gone, the Wildcats should hire a familiar name

In the middle of December, with the coaching carousel spinning and his name linked to other schools, Arizona coach Jedd Fisch was asked about his future in Tucson.

“If you win, people are going to think that you’re going to leave,” Fisch told Arizona Sports. “But I don’t know why we would do that. My family loves it here in Tucson …

“We’re just getting started here. We believe we have an opportunity here to turn Arizona football into having the same success that Arizona basketball has had over the last 30 years, but to do that you’ve got to have continuity.”

One month and a day later, Fisch is gone. He accepted Washington’s offer on Sunday and will lead the Huskies into the Big Ten.

From here, it was an easy decision. The Huskies have a better program and greater resources. (Fisch will reportedly earn $7.75 million in Seattle, approximately double what he was making in Tucson.)

Also, the Huskies offer Fisch an easier path into the expanded College Football Playoff.

More often than not, the 16-school Big 12 will send one team, its champion, to the CFP. Meanwhile, the 18-school Big Ten will send three or four. The future of college football is the Big Ten and the SEC and then everyone else.

Despite his expressed affinity for Arizona and the contract negotiations that reportedly were oh-so-close to consummation, Fisch was never a lock to stay beyond this winter, not with his hot name and unpredictable coaching dominoes.

Who knew Nick Saban would retire, that Alabama would lure Kalen DeBoer away from Washington and that the Huskies would turn around and target Fisch?

Also, anyone who believed Fisch was committed to a long career in Tucson wasn’t familiar with his background: He had no ties to the school or the community when the Wildcats appointed him head coach in Dec. 2020.

Granted, Fisch proved a brilliant hire. He masterfully rebuilt the program and left it on sound footing — for now.

At any moment, the foundation could liquefy.

The transfer portal closed earlier this month, except in the case of schools that experience coaching changes. Arizona’s players will have 30 days to enter the portal and months to select a destination.

By this time next week, the core of the 10-win roster could be decimated. A handful of players, including quarterback Noah Fifita, might even follow Fisch to Washington.

Which is why the Wildcats must move swiftly and decisively in securing a new head coach.

In our view, this should be an easy call for president Robert Robbins and athletic director Dave Heeke.

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Hire San Jose State coach Brent Brennan, and hire him in the next 48 hours.

Arizona fans might recall that Brennan was a candidate three years ago after the dismissal of Kevin Sumlin. There is no reason to pass on Brennan a second time, for he brings two crucial qualifications:

• The Wildcats are in his DNA.

Brennan was a graduate assistant in Tucson under former coach Dick Tomey, and his brother, Brad, played for Tomey. Also, Brennan spoke movingly about Tomey’s influence on his career at the late coach’s memorial.

With those deep ties to the school, he is the anti-Fisch. And continuity is more important than ever for Arizona given the chaos created by the transfer portal and the school’s pending move into the Big 12.

We would never say never when it comes to the coaching carousel, but Brennan would be less likely to leave Arizona than 90% of the coaches the Wildcats could hire and 100 percent of the coaches the Wildcats could hire who have a résumé worthy of the position.

• We say that because Brennan has won consistently at San Jose State, which is not an easy place to succeed.

Like Arizona, the Spartans lack the tradition and resources possessed by many of their peers. Brennan thrived anyhow.

He needed a few years to overhaul SJSU’s roster and change the culture. But since his blueprint took hold in 2020 — his fourth year on the job — the Spartans have gone 26-19 overall and 21-10 in the Mountain West, with three bowl appearances.

If you can win consistently at San Jose State, you can do the same at Arizona. The programs are more similar than different in how they compare to conference peers.

The source of Brennan’s success: Tireless recruiting akin to the approach Fisch took during his three years in Tucson.

The Wildcats could undertake a traditional coaching search. They could hire an executive placement firm to help with background checks and conduct a series of secret meetings with three or four candidates.

Or they could act swiftly and boldly, dispense with the search firm and hire Brennan in the next 48 hours.

The Wildcats didn’t make a mistake back in 2020. They clearly got it right with Fisch. And they can get it right this time, as well.

Brennan knows Tucson, he has blood ties to the program, he has won repeatedly in a difficult job, and he’s just a call away.

Some coaching searches are difficult. Not this one. This one is easy.