Inside The Huskies

UW Appears Close to Adding "Senior" Offensive Coach

Longtime NFL coordinator and QBs coach appears ready to join Huskies.
Dan Raley|
As the Jets quarterbacks coach, Matt Cavanaugh shares some knowledge with quarterback Tim Tebow.
As the Jets quarterbacks coach, Matt Cavanaugh shares some knowledge with quarterback Tim Tebow. | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

Jedd Fisch famously said recently he didn't need another offensive coordinator. He calls the plays and he's not giving that up.

Instead, as has been rumored for a couple weeks now, Fisch reportedly will hire former NFL quarterback and offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh as a consultant or senior advisor of some sort. On3 reported an agreement is being negotiated.

Cavanaugh, 69, apparently will take one of the hybrid staff roles offered outside of the UW's 10 full-time assistant coaching roles.

He has served as an offensive coordinator for the following NFL franchises: the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the then-Washington Redskins.

While it's not exactly clear what went down across the board, the Huskies have made a lot of offensive adjustments in a short amount of time.

Once starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. jumped in and out of the transfer portal in January, the Huskies and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jimmie Dougherty went different directions, with the latter possibly getting pushed out.

No one has confirmed or denied that.

Yet Fisch acknowledged before Dougherty was out that former NFL quarterback JP Losman, previously a Huskies' quality control coach, was in line for expanded responsibilities, which included recruiting this winter.

Once Losman was named quarterbacks coach, but not offensive coordinator, Fisch said he was looking for a senior coach without naming him at that point.

"I'm not looking for an offensive coodinator," he said. "We promoted JP Losman to be our quarterback coach. That will take care of our 10th spot. I've run our offense the last six years. ... That's what I love to do. That's what I''m trained to do. I don't want to give that up."

So now it appears Williams soon will have a pair of former NFL quarterbacks to confer with, including Cavanaugh, who's a Super Bowl veteran.

Here's wondering if the coaching shuffle was part of the deal to insure that Williams came back to Montlake and stayed put.

Cavanaugh played his college football at Pittsburgh, alongside legendary running back Tony Dorsett, and they shared in an unbeaten season and a national championship in 1976.

The quarterback was named MVP of the Sugar and Gator bowls and was drafted in the NFL Draft's second round with the 50th overall pick by the New England Patriots.

Cavanaugh was the backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers in both the 1984 Super Bowl XIX and the 1990 Super Bowl XXV.

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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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