It’s been 6 weeks since college football’s 2025 season started, and we are already without 5 head coaches who appeared in Week 1. Arkansas, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Oklahoma State, and finally Stanford are looking for a fresh start. The only problem is that there aren’t enough names around. But those who are there, like Ed Orgeron or Urban Meyer, haven’t shown any inclination. So, with those dynamics in mind, UCLA has turned to Jedd Fisch.

“Multiple sources have told On3 to keep an eye on Washington’s Jedd Fisch, who is a former UCLA offensive coordinator and interim head coach and spent two seasons with the LA Rams…Deeper than his connections to Los Angeles, Fisch has ties to UCLA booster Casey Wasserman,” reported On3’s Pete Nakos. Apart from Fisch, other names like Arizona’s Brent Brennan and Baylor’s Dave Aranda are also being considered for the job. However, Jedd Fisch’s name is still at the top, owing to his connections with the program.

Jedd Fisch has a deep past tied to UCLA, serving as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2017 under head coach Jim Mora. Later, Fisch also served some time as interim head coach after Mora left and was credited with building the team’s offensive foundation, taking UCLA to a top-25 offense. Moreover, the now-Washington head coach’s familiarity with Rose Bowl operations and South Carolina recruiting makes him an enticing prospect for the program.

“I think that anybody would like to be the head football coach at an extremely prominent university (UCLA). In this case, right now, where my mind is, my mind is 100 percent on trying to get our seniors to 6-0 [at home] and to leave Coach Mora’s legacy as one that he was able to get five out of his six teams to bowl game,” said Fisch in 2017 when asked about his head coaching interest at UCLA. At the time, Fisch wasn’t hired, owing to his inexperience in the head coaching world. But now, dynamics have changed for him entirely.

Not only does Fisch have experience at Washington, but he also came after spending three seasons at Arizona as their head coach. There, Fisch elevated a 124th-ranked offense in 2021 to a respectable 48th position in 2022. Whereas, in the 2023 season, Arizona was ranked 18th nationally in scoring offense, accumulating 34.6 points per game. That points to the quality that Fisch can bring to UCLA and lay new foundations for the Bruins’ success. Lastly, his ties with Casey Wesserman is another reason for the UCLA interest.

Jedd Fisch finally opens up on UCLA job interest

A UCLA alum, Wesserman is also the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Rams. That dynamic is important since Jedd Fisch himself spent his 2018 and 2019 seasons at the Rams. Fisch served as an offensive assistant in 2018 and was promoted to assistant OC in 2019, finally moving to the New England Patriots as their QBs coach in 2020. But it’s not just because of the Rams link. The connection also has to do with the time the Washington head coach has spent in Southern California and knowing the recruiting landscape.

For instance, Fisch helped UCLA land a 20th-ranked class nationally in 2018. Not just that, Fisch’s recruiting became a major factor in landing the 4th-ranked QB, Dorian Thompson-Robinson. As for Fisch, though, he has denied the rumors linking him to UCLA. “Yeah, I’m focused on the fact that we’re playing a team that beat us 24-19, and that is literally the only thing that I’m thinking about. We had a really tough game against [Washington State] a year ago. We got stopped on the 1-yard line. My mind is strictly on that,” said Fisch ahead of the Washington State game.  The verdict?

Fisch is reportedly on a $7.5 million per year contract for seven years. His buyout, though, is relatively cheaper at $10 million, something which UCLA surely can afford in this case. That said, Fisch’s name isn’t set in stone. Baylor’s Dave Aranda is also gaining traction for the job, who is a Kern County, California native. However, his 33-31 head coaching record at Baylor can still complicate things.