Washington Jedd Fisch Oct 7, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch watches game action against the Southern California Trojans during overtime at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

It’s certainly been quite a week for the Washington Huskies.

One week ago today, Washington was getting set to take on the Michigan Wolverines in the College Football Playoff National Championship, which they would go on to lose.

By Friday, Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer had been hired to replace Nick Saban with the Alabama Crimson Tide and a mass exodus of Huskies players, recruits, and coaches began.

As Washington looks to pick up the pieces of their whirlwind week, the university is targeting Arizona Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch, according to The Atheltic’s Pete Thamel.

“Sources: Arizona coach Jedd Fisch has emerged as Washington’s top target for the head coaching job. He’s the only candidate Washington officials have engaged with after their initial phone calls. Expect clarity in the near future,” Thamel posted to his X account Sunday afternoon.

If Fisch winds up as Washington’s coach, it will be the second consecutive rebuilding job the 47-year-old coach will undertake. In his three seasons at Arizona, Fisch saw the Wildcats improve from a 1-11 team in 2021 to a 10-3 finish in the 2023 season, ending in a 38-24 Alamo Bowl victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.

Fisch went 1-1 as UCLA’s interim coach in 2017 after the school fired Jim Mora. Arizona is his first true head coaching job, but he has been an offensive coordinator or position coach for a handful of other college or NFL teams.

[Pete Thamel]