As the Washington Huskies gear up for their second season of the Jedd Fisch era in Seattle, we are soon going to see what a team that is actually built in the way that Fisch wants to build a team will look like. Year one was such a bizarre and unique situation with the way that Fisch stepped in following the abrupt and disrupting departure of Kalen DeBoer.
There was a ton of roster turnover and scrambling to piece together a team that could compete in what was Washington’s first season in a new conference.
A lot of things changed in a hurry, there were a ton of moving parts, and Jedd Fisch still managed to lead UW to a Sun Bowl appearance as well as secured some interesting wins over the Michigan Wolverines (who later beat Ohio State and Alabama) and the USC Trojans (who just weren’t that good).
But as a whole, what can we assess from Fisch’s first season on Montlake? Well ESPN’s Greg McElroy has decided to go ahead and grade Fisch (as well as the various other first year head coaches across the country).
ESPN’s Greg McElroy assesses and grades Jedd Fisch for his first year leading the Washington Huskies
One thing that McElroy seemed insistent upon was acknowledging the unique and bizarre circumstances that Fisch faced.
“It felt like an impossible situation, by the way, Kalen DeBoer leaves, takes the Alabama head coaching job, Washington really only has one way to go,” McElroy noted about the difficult nature of the role at the time Fisch stepped in.
Which, yeah, it was pretty unique and tough.
“Not only did they lose a ton of key players, Jedd Fisch takes over a job that you’re moving into the Big 10 (that’s impossible), your coach just left for Alabama (that’s impossible), you just got to the National Championship (that’s impossible), a bunch of guys in the portal (that’s impossible),” McElroy stated.
But despite all of that, UW still got a half dozen wins. The Huskies weren’t always the prettiest team out there, but there were some positive things that happened.
“There were some things to like about Jedd Fisch’s first season, but the consistency wasn’t quite there and I do believe that the second year and the third year will be much better indicators of long term success that he could have there at Seattle,” the former Alabama quarterback explained.
As for what grade McElroy presented Fisch with? Well, it was a B-. It’s not the worst thing ever, but it is pretty far from where Washington wants to be these days. And here’s to hoping that years two and three are notably better for UW and Fisch.