Inside The Huskies

Fisch Confirms Dougherty, UW Will Part Ways

Those two had worked together had four schools overall, including Michigan, UCLA and Arizona.
Dan Raley|
Offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty meets with the media each week.
Offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty meets with the media each week. | Dan Raley

The University of Washington and Jimmie Dougherty, the Husky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, have parted ways, coach Jedd Fisch confirmed on Tuesday night.

"I have worked with Jimmie Dougherty for seven years and am appreciative for his many contributions to our success as an offense and as a team," Fisch posted on social media.

While offering no reasons for the split, Fisch's insistence at calling all of the plays on game day has made the OC job title really nothing more than a label -- so it wasn't that much of a surprise the two sides went in different directions.

The timing still seems a little odd, with the Huskies opening spring football in just over five weeks.

Plus, Dougherty and Fisch coached at four schools together in Michigan (2016), UCLA (2017), Arizona (2021-23) and now Washington (2024-to date).

Signaling a change might be coming, Fisch had given former NFL quarterback JP Losman more and more responsibility as of late, including going out and recruiting high school quarterbacks during the winter.

Wherever he's been, Fisch has served as the offensive play-caller for much of the past 13 years, including five as the head coach at Arizona and the UW, and said it would be tough for him to give up that responsibility

"Right now, I can say I can't envision that," Fisch said this past season.

Fisch came to the UW with with Brennan Carroll holding the title of offensive coordinator, but he, too, deferred to Fisch and mostly dealt with his duties as offensive-line coach.

Dougherty was named as Carroll's replacement when the latter joined his father's Las Vegas Raiders coaching staff. The Carrolls, of course, are out of work now.

In Dougherty's 20-plus year coaching career, he previously served as an offensive coordinator for San Diego (2006) and San Diego State (2013-14).

Asked this season if he wanted more offensive responsibility, Dougherty replied affirmatively, that it would be something for him to pursue in the future.

His head coach, however, doesn't appear ready to give up his play-calling chores, feeling the need to keep going and simply trust his own instincts in guiding the Husky offense.

"I don't think you would never say never," Fisch added. "But pretty close to never."

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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