The Star is asking — and answering — five lingering questions surrounding the Arizona football program following the Wildcats’ historic 2023 season. The final installment asks two questions: When will Jedd Fisch receive a contract extension? And will a bump for the staff help keep his assistants in Tucson?
Arizona has two important tasks this offseason.
Before the weekend, the UA’s most important objective was securing a contract extension for head coach Jedd Fisch after the 14th-ranked Wildcats went 10-3 with a win over No. 12 Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl, becoming one of four Arizona teams to win at least 10 games in a season. The nine-win improvement between the 2021 and ‘23 seasons is the best in program history.
Besides locking in Fisch for a contract that will earn him and his staff more money, the Wildcats also will need to find a new defensive coordinator after Johnny Nansen accepted a co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach position at Texas, reuniting with head coach Steve Sarkisian, who hired Nansen at Washington and USC.
Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch hoists the trophy following the Wildcats’ 38-24 victory over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on Dec. 28, 2023.
Nansen helped Arizona improve from 125th nationally in total defense to No. 50 between last season and ‘23. Now the Wildcats are searching for their third defensive coordinator since Fisch was hired three-plus years ago. Arizona’s next defensive coordinator will be the sixth one since the start of the 2019 season. The Wildcats could possibly promote defensive backs assistant Duane Akina to defensive coordinator, considering his coordinator experience at Arizona and Texas.
This is the unfortunate part of the business that is college football for programs like Arizona: A program like Texas, with strong tradition and resources that are tough to rival for Arizona, swoops in and poaches assistant coaches like Nansen, who established himself as one of the top defensive play-callers in college football this season.
It’s a reason why Fisch clamored to increase the salary pool for his assistant coaches at the end of the regular season.
“Before I get my contract done, we’re going to make sure that all of our coaches are taken care of here,” Fisch said. “All of the assistant coaches, we’ll try to accommodate them accordingly.
Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch follows the cheer squad into Arizona Stadium as the team makes the Wildcat Walk before their Pac-12 game against undefeated Washington on Sept. 30, 2023.
“We understand it’s a very competitive atmosphere out there in the profession, and the most important part of my contract is that our salary pool for our assistant coaches continue to increase and that we’re able to keep our staff (intact).
“It’s been very, very important, the consistency of our staff, which has enabled us to win. Before I worry about myself, I want to make sure we take care of them.”
Even though the Wildcats are expected to be among the favorites to win the Big 12 and potentially contend for the College Football Playoff, which expands to 12 teams in ‘24, Arizona currently has one of the lowest-paid staffs entering the new conference.
In the contract terms provided to the Star by the UA athletic department, Fisch’s current five-year contract, which expires after the 2027 season, is worth $18.3 million. The Arizona coach is set to earn $3.4 million in 2024, $3.6 million in ’25 (along with a one-time $400,000 retention bonus), $3.65 million in ’26 and $4 million in his final season in ’27. Fisch would be the second-lowest paid head coach in the Big 12 in 2024; UCF’s Gus Malzahn will earn $2.3 million. (Salary information isn’t available for BYU and TCU, which are private schools.)
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita and head coach Jedd Fisch talk over the plan for a 2-point conversion in the third quarter of the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma.
Fisch is expected to have a new contract between now and the start of spring ball in March. UA athletic director Dave Heeke told reporters following the regular-season finale at Arizona State that Arizona will “do everything we can” to keep Fisch as head coach of the Wildcats. Once Heeke and Fisch agree to terms on the reworked deal, it will be presented to the Arizona Board of Regents for approval.
“We want him here for a long time,” Heeke said. “We’ve told him that.”
When Fisch and the Wildcats prepare for another potentially memorable season, it will tie for the longest period Fisch has spent with one team at either the collegiate or NFL levels. The longest stint for Fisch, a longtime journeyman as an assistant coach, was four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens (2004-07) as a wide receivers coach.
There aren’t many legitimate threats to Arizona that would entice Fisch to walk away from his post in Tucson. Fisch spent his entire career working to become a head coach and finally assembled a winning a product in three seasons, with room to grow in ‘24. With “Black Monday” approaching in the NFL, several franchises will be looking to hire head coaches. The University of Michigan, where Fisch coached quarterbacks for two seasons under Jim Harbaugh, could be looking for a new head coach if Harbaugh leaves for an NFL job.
Appearing this past week as a guest on “The Jim Rome Show,” Fisch said: “We’re working through semantics to get this deal done” to stay at Arizona.
“I think we’re very, very close,” he said. “We want to be done here very soon, and we want to be a part of this program for a long time. I’ve moved a lot in this business to be able to be here today, to become a head coach of a Power Five program, to win 10 games, to be a Top 15 team, hopefully Top 10. ... I have no interest in going anywhere.
“I have a lot of interest in seeing if we can get to that CFP. There’s 12 teams in it next year, and I would love to have our team be a part of it.”
VIDEO: Alamo Bowl: Arizona football coach Jedd Fisch shares his desire to let the Wildcats’ bowl win be a true conclusion to the 2023 season for his team, rather than a jumpstart so quickly to what might come to be in 2024. Fisch shared his remarks after the No. 14 Wildcats’ 38-24 win over No. 12 Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, in San Antonio, Texas. (Courtesy Valero Alamo Bowl)
