Jedd Fisch- Traveling Used Car Salesman / Coach For Hire

[EastCoastCat]

Being an underdog at home against an FCS team would be fucking embarrassing.

Everyone knows that NDSU is not any old FCS team. They look better than a lot of FBS schools quite frankly but I think at home we would still be favored by a field goal.

[AV8RCAT]

We currently have a top 20 recruiting class w/o counting transfers. Top 20, let that sink in. That has got to help us in the transfer portal. Fisch must have disguised the obvious fact that he is an inferior coach, since a bunch are offense and high profile one's may have some professional guidance on who to trust their multimillion dollar futures to.

just sayin

You are adorable.

Lol. Staking out my "told you so" position so I can be right and everyone happy about it.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Let's list all the coaches who are great recruiters and terrible coaches. I'll start:

Penny Hardaway
Josh Pastner
Ed Orgeron

Willie Taggart, Steve Lavin, and Mike Stoops say “Hi there! Don’t forget about Steve Sarkisian, or Kevin Sumlin before he completely surrendered to the bottle down in Tucson.”

I'm not sure Sumlin qualifies. Look at how A&M crushed it this year. Sumlin had some top 5 classes, but that may have been underachieving at A&M.

[ASUHATER!]

Let's list all the coaches who are great recruiters and terrible coaches. I'll start:

Penny Hardaway
Josh Pastner
Ed Orgeron

Willie Taggart, Steve Lavin, and Mike Stoops say “Hi there! Don’t forget about Steve Sarkisian, or Kevin Sumlin before he completely surrendered to the bottle down in Tucson.”

I'm not sure Sumlin qualifies. Look at how A&M crushed it this year. Sumlin had some top 5 classes, but that may have been underachieving at A&M.

It was reported that A&M boosters spent $30 million on recruiting this year with the new NIL.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Let's list all the coaches who are great recruiters and terrible coaches. I'll start:

Penny Hardaway
Josh Pastner
Ed Orgeron

Willie Taggart, Steve Lavin, and Mike Stoops say “Hi there! Don’t forget about Steve Sarkisian, or Kevin Sumlin before he completely surrendered to the bottle down in Tucson.”

I'm not sure Sumlin qualifies. Look at how A&M crushed it this year. Sumlin had some top 5 classes, but that may have been underachieving at A&M.

It was reported that A&M boosters spent $30 million on recruiting this year with the new NIL.

Sort of. That's from some message board user. I mean, it could be right...or not.

Also, A&M boosters might not have just started post-NIL.

[azcat49]

Offering NIL deals in recruiting is an inducement and supposedly illegal I thought

[AzCatFan2]

6 years at TAMU and Sumlin only had one class that didn't finish in the top 15 nationally. And that class was in the mid-20s if I remember correctly. Nobody did less with more talent than Sumlin at TAMU. And when Sumlin got to Tucson, he did less with less. Not a big surprise, but the hope was Sumlin would be able to recruit to Tucson the same way he did to College Station. Didn't happen, and not only Sumlin not coach, he couldn't recruit, and the results were disastrous.

It's clear Fisch can recruit. And while that will help, it's not a guarantee we'll ever get to the top of the mountain. For all of Sumlin's recruiting prowess at TAMU, his teams consistently underachieved. One year is not enough to really gauge Fisch, but plenty of questionable moments during year one under Fisch. And it's not like Fisch lit a fire and had overwhelming success as an O-coordinator before landing in Tucson.

[EastCoastCat]

Sumlin @TAMU in the SEC can't be compared to Fisch @UofA in the Pac 12. Nothing is comparable in terms of program history, recruiting base, competition and coaching staff (e.g. Kingsbury was the OC for Sumlin if you recall).

Let's just say we need to get better talent in our program, which it appears right now that's heading in the right direction, and then we can fully assess Fisch's coaching ability which can only be measured by W's vs. L's.

[AV8RCAT]

6 years at TAMU and Sumlin only had one class that didn't finish in the top 15 nationally. And that class was in the mid-20s if I remember correctly. Nobody did less with more talent than Sumlin at TAMU. And when Sumlin got to Tucson, he did less with less. Not a big surprise, but the hope was Sumlin would be able to recruit to Tucson the same way he did to College Station. Didn't happen, and not only Sumlin not coach, he couldn't recruit, and the results were disastrous.

It's clear Fisch can recruit. And while that will help, it's not a guarantee we'll ever get to the top of the mountain. For all of Sumlin's recruiting prowess at TAMU, his teams consistently underachieved. One year is not enough to really gauge Fisch, but plenty of questionable moments during year one under Fisch. And it's not like Fisch lit a fire and had overwhelming success as an O-coordinator before landing in Tucson.

I don't follow the NFL. Did Fisch have a poor reputation as a coach before he came here?

[Chicat]

I don't follow the NFL. Did Fisch have a poor reputation as a coach before he came here?

Not a poor reputation, but he was never considered as some kind of genius, despite coaching alongside and under guys who are considered the top minds in the game (McVay, Belichek, etc).

Had you heard of his name more than a few times before he was mentioned in conjunction with the Arizona job?

[gronk4heisman]

His one stint as an OC in the NFL produced the the last ranked offense in points per game his two years on the job, I am sure we can make excuses for why that was so bad as well. His historical numbers have pointed to him as at best a run of the mill offensive mind. We are all hoping with the added talent he can take the next step.

I will add, knowing he has a lot of open questions as a coach I am still very excited for next year. That is a testament to how good he has been in the offseason last year and so far this year. If we come out of fall camp and it looks like Plummer is going to be our QB, that excitement will be severely deflated which I hate to say because Plummer is a guy who is really hard to root against.

[AzCatFan2]

6 years at TAMU and Sumlin only had one class that didn't finish in the top 15 nationally. And that class was in the mid-20s if I remember correctly. Nobody did less with more talent than Sumlin at TAMU. And when Sumlin got to Tucson, he did less with less. Not a big surprise, but the hope was Sumlin would be able to recruit to Tucson the same way he did to College Station. Didn't happen, and not only Sumlin not coach, he couldn't recruit, and the results were disastrous.

It's clear Fisch can recruit. And while that will help, it's not a guarantee we'll ever get to the top of the mountain. For all of Sumlin's recruiting prowess at TAMU, his teams consistently underachieved. One year is not enough to really gauge Fisch, but plenty of questionable moments during year one under Fisch. And it's not like Fisch lit a fire and had overwhelming success as an O-coordinator before landing in Tucson.

I don't follow the NFL. Did Fisch have a poor reputation as a coach before he came here?

Not sure what rep Fisch had, but the results were a lot of meh. A year as U Minnesota O-coordinator before the staff got let go. Two years as U Miami O-coordinator with a 13-11 record, before he was hired as the Jacksonville Jags' O-coordinator. Lasted one year and got fired. Also a year at UCLA as O-coordinator and then interim head coach after Mora was fired. The U Miami years are probably his best, but still, 2011 Offense was ranked 64, and 2012 was ranked 49. Not exactly setting the world ablaze. UCLA offense under Fisch was 37, and that was with a Sr. Josh Rosen. That same year, with RichRod, we ranked 5th in overall offense.

After Fisch left UCLA, he spent 2 years with the Rams as an offensive assistant, and then 1 year with the Patriots as QB coach. It's not like college football, nor NFL teams were clamoring to have Fisch on the sidelines as a O-coordinator before we hired him. You don't spend 3 years as a bottom level assistant when you have several years of O-coordinator experience in college and the NFL without a reason.

[Chicat]

There’s a pretty good reason the reaction to him getting hired was either “Who??”, “Meh”, or “Are you fucking kidding me???”

[UAEebs86]

He should hire a great OC and adopt the CEO model ala Herm. I think that's his best chance at long-term success.

[gronk4heisman]

He should hire a great OC and adopt the CEO model ala Herm. I think that's his best chance at long-term success.

I think this would not only have to involve Fisch being humbled, but also would likely mean we would have to move on from Brennan Carrol as he is the current named "OC"

[Spaceman Spiff]

He should hire a great OC and adopt the CEO model ala Herm. I think that's his best chance at long-term success.

I think this would not only have to involve Fisch being humbled, but also would likely mean we would have to move on from Brennan Carrol as he is the current named "OC"

In the wake of a top 25 class, moving on from a guy with the recruiting pedigree of Carroll wouldn't make a ton of sense. It's hard not to imagine he didn't have a role in the class we got having been the recruiting coordinator at SC and Miami.

[gronk4heisman]

He should hire a great OC and adopt the CEO model ala Herm. I think that's his best chance at long-term success.

I think this would not only have to involve Fisch being humbled, but also would likely mean we would have to move on from Brennan Carrol as he is the current named "OC"

In the wake of a top 25 class, moving on from a guy with the recruiting pedigree of Carroll wouldn't make a ton of sense. It's hard not to imagine he didn't have a role in the class we got having been the recruiting coordinator at SC and Miami.

Agree, but sure do wish he had done a little more on his own position group.

[UALoco]

Well, I think you can arguably say Jedd is UofA's best offseason head coach of all time.

[OSUCat]

Based on how many open receivers never got the ball last year, the sudden influx of talent, I’m optimistic that Fisch offense will be better next year.

[Carcassdragger]

Now we just need to find an OL.

[AV8RCAT]

Now we just need to find an OL.

After signing de Laura, I'm pretty confident we will have some impact linemen transfers as soon as this week.

[gronk4heisman]

Now we just need to find an OL.

On Scheers podcast he says you should expect to hear of at least two OL transfers with the pedigree to come in and start right away.

[BBQ wildcat]

Didn't WSU's center also enter the portal? Will he follow De Laura?

[Alieberman]

If Jedd turns out to be a shitty coach, Jim Click needs to get him locked up to a contract

[Spaceman Spiff]

Now we just need to find an OL.

On Scheers podcast he says you should expect to hear of at least two OL transfers with the pedigree to come in and start right away.

That would be nice. The big offensive issue was we lacked talent for any real philosophy. We couldn't run the ball or pass protect. Our WR's struggled to get open, our QB's struggled to deliver the ball without picks and our RB's were just getting trapped in nonexistent holes.

De Laura gives us the ability to throw and we seem to have WR and RB playmaking ability from incoming guys. None of that happens if we can't win a bit up front, though.

[Catintheheat]

I know a little about Arizona football. I don't follow it as closely as other sports. And know Jedd Fisch was an unpopular choice where the UA president got involved. Fisch has had problems with questionable play-calling and it might be wise to find help in this area,

And yet... Fisch and staff have figured out how to play the recruiting game in the off-season. Maybe experience in coaching in the NFL has something to do with it. They seem to know how to build a team, as witnessed by the quality letter-of-intent signings and success in the transfer portal. Evidence shows that he figured out how to play the off-season game. People listen to what he has to sell.

I see a future where a team will have to be rebuilt after every season. Even new recruits will need to be convinced to stay. Players can come and go as they choose. Fisch has shown he is good at understanding it this year. Yet it likely will become the norm in college football going forward.

I will tell you this much, I am going to enjoy the coming season. And it is the first time I've been excited since the UA/Oregon game that we lost in 2 OT at home. Fisch gets credit for bringing back some hope and potential into the football program. It will be interesting to see how this team develops next season.

[Fendicent4ever]

Generally speaking, I agree. There will be more player movement (which is good! Kids should be finding the best fits, even if that means moving up/down levels). Some of the great beloved players in history transferred- while not as common Hank Gathers, TJ McConnell, Troy Aikman, just off the top of my head.

I expect it to settle down. My interpretation of the rules are that kids get 1 transfer plus another if they graduate. Love that. They aren't left in the wind if a coach with a different system comes in, students are incentivized to graduate. If managed right, its a much more harmonious roster.

As long as we get some o-lineman, there WILL be marked improvement next season. Jordan and Jayden are both bona fide division 1 starters who have thrown for 20+ touchdowns. Jordan will get a full spring to immerse himself, and Jayden will get a chance to battle. People forget McCloud was working on classwork in Tampa until like August. He was running for his life the second he was on the field. Perhaps most importantly, Noah can get in the weight room. I need my man eating Frankies, East Coast Subs, Blackjack & Bisonwiches with ranch on the side ASAP! False starts and holds killed this team last year. We had a TON of drives and almost no TDs. Bringing in the OK State, Bama, and Wazoo O linemen- 2 of whom are starters- is a potential paradigm shift.

I wonder if Plummer is open to a position change? I love the kid and want him around. Maybe safety or an undersized 'backer (think Simone for ASU during Todd Grahams' run). Hes got physicality and hes a stud- I want him in the team someplace.

Running Backs/Outside Guys.. Michael Wiley had several great games in 2020 running out of the pistol. I want to see more of those looks. I think Doughboy and Drake Anderson need to play a lot in the slot. I want more bubble screens with those two and Cowing. Especially with big outside guys like Burnett, Jalen, Singer, and Ma'Jon. I'd redshirt Stevie Rocker. Anderson, John, Wiley can handle it for a year.

I want to see Jamarye get to PLAY. Was he hurt last year? Let him loose on the outside!

I think the Harris bros, JB Brown, and Kyon are studs. Mason and Diallo are guys I'm curious about replacing. Those guys had major size and Diallo in particular was a thumper. It was refreshing to see 2 guys on defense over 3 bills after years of Rich Rod bullcrap. The front 7 and corners kept us in games last year until they were out of gas. Probably our best defense since that double OT game (no coincidence that our D-line had 4 NFL players on it that season). There are some corners who can spell Chris and Zay, Jaxen Turner is getting better, and Christian Young is a playmaker whose been waiting for a clear role his whole career. Great kid- hes going to have an outstanding season.

RE Jedd, who this thread is about, I want to see how he delegates and grows. Calling a timeout to set up a punt is unacceptable. A lot of little boners like that throughout the season that we don't need to rehash. Honestly- hiring someone under 40 whose played a ton of Madden/NCAA to manage timeouts isn't a waste of capital IMO. That said- Jedd is a family man who appears to have fostered a family environment. Given how much of a mess Rich Rods barren carnival wasteland and Sumlins benders created, it can't be understated how important it is that Arizonas coach be someone who is stable off the clock- we had 3 straight booze bags. A family environment gets Arizona to its 8-11 win, rich mans Whittingham Utah potential. Thats how we all meet in Pasadena one of these times.

[UAEebs86]

I need my man eating Frankies, East Coast Subs, Blackjack & Bisonwiches with ranch on the side ASAP!

Frankie's by UofA and East Coast Subs are closed Fendi.

[Fendicent4ever]

I need my man eating Frankies, East Coast Subs, Blackjack & Bisonwiches with ranch on the side ASAP!

Frankie's by UofA and East Coast Subs are closed Fendi.

Oh no. Well- it wasn't for a lack of effort on my part! One of the really special things about Tucson is the independently owned local joints, I hope thats still the case.

Can we just say get him the Bill Clinton plate at Mi Nidito? I see a great NIL opportunity for Noah haha

[EastCoastCat]

Need to bring back Pot Belly Cafe which was on 6th Ave. Those biscuits and gravy would make them look like Alabama lineman.

[Chicat]

No idea what this means, but the coach doesn’t use GIFs lightly.

[UAEebs86]

Are all these UofA players entering the portal essentially getting Romar'd with all the transfers in? (albeit with a different coaching staff)

[EastCoastCat]

3 more gets? 3 wins next year? Good things come in 3’s?

[AV8RCAT]

3 giant linemen, and a partridge in a pear tree

[tgrumpy2]

Speaking strictly about recruitment, did everyone get what they wanted? Between the recruiting class and the transfer portal this has been Christmas.

[Lando05]

I gotta eat crow, dudes putting in the work in the off-season to bring in talent. That's half the job and he's blowing it out of the water in that regard. I have more hope than I ever did under Sumlin.

[Sid]

Speaking strictly about recruitment, did everyone get what they wanted? Between the recruiting class and the transfer portal this has been Christmas.

Tell you what, I’m now hopeful to have the opportunity to listen to Gus & Joel call a meaningful Arizona game while “speedy” breaks off a big one to the house with Gus going fucking nuts in the booth.

I might cry.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Speaking strictly about recruitment, did everyone get what they wanted? Between the recruiting class and the transfer portal this has been Christmas.

Fisch has done a very good job in recruiting, HS and the portal. If he keeps doing this, he'll put us in a good place.

It hopefully sets a tone that recruiting is doable at Arizona. I've said I don't think Fisch will be here long term, but even if I'm right, the positive effect of the talent coming in and the overall message Arizona football can do this is a big positive.

[Fendicent4ever]

Speaking strictly about recruitment, did everyone get what they wanted? Between the recruiting class and the transfer portal this has been Christmas.

Fisch has done a very good job in recruiting, HS and the portal. If he keeps doing this, he'll put us in a good place.

It hopefully sets a tone that recruiting is doable at Arizona. I've said I don't think Fisch will be here long term, but even if I'm right, the positive effect of the talent coming in and the overall message Arizona football can do this is a big positive.

The trend of Pac-12 size/speed showing up on campus in larger numbers than it was since 2010 is massively important.
-Hell, even the quality of offers the 3 stars had. Guys like AJ Jones, Kevin Green, and Tyler Martin were the norm when Stoops was building/stable. Getting kids of that skill level as opposed to beating out Idaho, ULL, and UTSA like we were under Rich Rod has to be the rule and not the exception. Say Fisch stinks but in 3 years we have guys who are consensus power 5 talent, that gets you to 7-9 wins, puts your guys in NFL camps, and sets the stage for the next level hire.

-As an aside, I think 1 and 2 stars should be used more regularly. The gulf in accolades from the top 3 star to the bottom is too big. G5 level- one star. Standard D1 Prospect with mostly MWC offers and the odd P5- 2 star. 3 star is your Jones, Martin level, 4 stars and 5 stars largely unchanged. Or maybe de-emphasizing stars and focusing more on the "rating" number. Just a thought.

[dovecanyoncat]

I've said I don't think Fisch will be here long term, but even if I'm right, the positive effect of the talent coming in and the overall message Arizona football can do this is a big positive.

The cynical pessimist in me translates this into "We can't have nice things, but if we can we can't keep them."

"Christmas morning is officially over kids, re-wrap the presents. Amazon wants 'em back".

[Spaceman Spiff]

I've said I don't think Fisch will be here long term, but even if I'm right, the positive effect of the talent coming in and the overall message Arizona football can do this is a big positive.

The cynical pessimist in me translates this into "We can't have nice things, but if we can we can't keep them."

"Christmas morning is officially over kids, re-wrap the presents. Amazon wants 'em back".

More like this:

1. Arizona is not a destination job.
2. Fisch has never stayed anywhere when he could upgrade.

I just can't imagine how the above two factors wind up any other way. I know anything is possible, but I know where I'd put my money.

Not that it is bad. If Fisch keeps bringing in talent like this and leaves the roster in good shape when he leaves, I will be fine with his tenure.

[dovecanyoncat]

I've said I don't think Fisch will be here long term, but even if I'm right, the positive effect of the talent coming in and the overall message Arizona football can do this is a big positive.

The cynical pessimist in me translates this into "We can't have nice things, but if we can we can't keep them."

"Christmas morning is officially over kids, re-wrap the presents. Amazon wants 'em back".

More like this:

1. Arizona is not a destination job.
2. Fisch has never stayed anywhere when he could upgrade.

I just can't imagine how the above two factors wind up any other way. I know anything is possible, but I know where I'd put my money.

Not that it is bad. If Fisch keeps bringing in talent like this and leaves the roster in good shape when he leaves, I will be fine with his tenure.

The devil truly is in the details of the return policy.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I've said I don't think Fisch will be here long term, but even if I'm right, the positive effect of the talent coming in and the overall message Arizona football can do this is a big positive.

The cynical pessimist in me translates this into "We can't have nice things, but if we can we can't keep them."

"Christmas morning is officially over kids, re-wrap the presents. Amazon wants 'em back".

More like this:

1. Arizona is not a destination job.
2. Fisch has never stayed anywhere when he could upgrade.

I just can't imagine how the above two factors wind up any other way. I know anything is possible, but I know where I'd put my money.

Not that it is bad. If Fisch keeps bringing in talent like this and leaves the roster in good shape when he leaves, I will be fine with his tenure.

The devil truly is in the details of the return policy.

Arizona football is Arizona football. I can't bring myself to believe Fisch will be ready to turn down a high level P5 job to lock himself down at the only P12 school to not make a Rose Bowl.

[EastCoastCat]

I've said I don't think Fisch will be here long term, but even if I'm right, the positive effect of the talent coming in and the overall message Arizona football can do this is a big positive.

The cynical pessimist in me translates this into "We can't have nice things, but if we can we can't keep them."

"Christmas morning is officially over kids, re-wrap the presents. Amazon wants 'em back".

More like this:

1. Arizona is not a destination job.
2. Fisch has never stayed anywhere when he could upgrade.

I just can't imagine how the above two factors wind up any other way. I know anything is possible, but I know where I'd put my money.

Not that it is bad. If Fisch keeps bringing in talent like this and leaves the roster in good shape when he leaves, I will be fine with his tenure.

The devil truly is in the details of the return policy.

Arizona football is Arizona football. I can't bring myself to believe Fisch will be ready to turn down a high level P5 job to lock himself down at the only P12 school to not make a Rose Bowl.

You must be no fun at cocktail parties...

[Spaceman Spiff]

Arizona football is Arizona football. I can't bring myself to believe Fisch will be ready to turn down a high level P5 job to lock himself down at the only P12 school to not make a Rose Bowl.

You must be no fun at cocktail parties...

I'm currently wearing this shirt to the bookstore so I don't exactly go to many cocktail parties.

https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/20565 ... hater-2000

Also maybe fitting for my takes in this thread.

[EastCoastCat]

Arizona football is Arizona football. I can't bring myself to believe Fisch will be ready to turn down a high level P5 job to lock himself down at the only P12 school to not make a Rose Bowl.

You must be no fun at cocktail parties...

I'm currently wearing this shirt to the bookstore so I don't exactly go to many cocktail parties.

https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/20565 ... hater-2000

Also maybe fitting for my takes in this thread.

I’m so old I thought you were showing some Calvin Murphy love.

Now he was a baller.

[AV8RCAT]

Seems like there is always someone saying "Don't get too excited now." None of us know where Fisch's head is right now. We can dream big and remember that Oregon became a semi-destination job.
If Fisch gets a chance to coach USC or Michigan, Ohio State or the like, he'll probably do that, but he will have to succeed here to be a candidate for one of those jobs and if he does, his successor will likely have a solid foundation for continued success.

[Carcassdragger]

Don't these successive coaches know if they win a Rose Bowl here, we'll build a statue of them?

Who else is going to make a statue of them for getting their team to a bowl game?

[Merkin]

I started at the UA in 1981. That was 40+ years ago.

I can't wait another 40 years to get to the Rose Bowl.

Don't think Fisch will even come close. Once he gets to any bowl game, he is gone.

[Postmaster]

Who was it that pissed off Click?