Well-traveled Big Ten coach a sleeper pick for Napier replacement at Florida

A surprise pick possibility

With Billy Napier gone from Florida, the search for the next hire is on. While Lane Kiffin or James Franklin are a couple of the most popular choices, ESPN suggested a surprising candidate. Second-year Washington coach Jedd Fisch was mentioned by Adam Rittenberg as a Florida candidate. While Fisch is clearly not the biggest name on the board, there are some sellable aspects to his candidacy that might appeal to Florida backers.

Fisch and Florida

First thing first-- Fisch won't have to be sold on Florida. He graduated from UF in 1998, having picked UF to try to work under legendary Gator coach Steve Spurrier. Fisch also coached at Florida as a graduate assistant under Spurrier in 1999 and 2000.

Fisch's rise and credentials

Fisch coached at a number of positions in both college and NFL football. He coached for both Miami and the Jacksonville Jaguars in the leadup to his first head coaching experience. Fisch was 1-1 as an interim coach at UCLA, but nabbed his first full-time head coaching role at Arizona after the 2020 season.

Arizona had gone 0-5 in an abbreviated 2020 campaign and then went 1-11 in Fisch's first year. But Fisch jumped the Wildcats to 5-7 in his second year and then posted a 10-3 season finishing with an Alamo Bowl win for the No. 11 Wildcats. QB Noah Fifita and WR Tetairoa McMillan starred in a high-scoring offense for Fisch, whose coaching background is full of big-time passing attacks.

Fisch then jumped for Washington and the Big Ten. The Huskies were off an appearance in the national title game, but had lost most of their talent between the NFL Draft and coach Kalen DeBoer taking them with him to Alabama. Fisch won six games in 2024 and helped the Huskies reach a bowl game and is off to a 5-2 start in 2025. "[I]f Fisch has a big season, Florida could come calling," noted Adam Rittenberg for ESPN.

While Fisch might not be a natural, Washington's postseason likely won't involve the College Football Playoff, so he might be available much quicker than, say, Lane Kiffin or Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman. His Washington resume isn't sparkling, but he'd be a motivated alum with a history of college and pro passing attacks. Florida might end up with Fisch as their dark horse pick.