Hate him all you want, but Arizona football wouldn’t have gotten where it is without Jedd Fisch

It’s now been four months since you decided to leave the Arizona Wildcats for the Washington Huskies, choosing clouds (over sunshine) and the kind of money most of us would have a hard time turning down.

Many of us were angry at the time, though it is said that time heals all wounds.

Well, I am writing to say that whatever anger once existed is now gone, instead replaced by gratitude.

So yes, Jeddediah, thank you.

Thank you for letting Arizona be a stepping stone on the way to your next dream job. Thank you for accomplishing in three seasons what few have been able to do in Tucson in building a winner. Thank you for getting Arizona back on the NFL Draft board, and thank you for improving the uniforms and doing enough to get Arizona on the cover of College Football 25 — even if the stripes on both are just a bit off.

And finally thank you for creating a personal culture and bringing in players who not only preach the idea of family, but actually live it.

Thank you for being great at building a roster and pretty terrible at decimating one.

Indeed, Jeddathon, we can all remember how it was back in January when many an Arizona fan was upset that the coach who just led the program to its first 10-win season since 2014, and in the weeks prior had been boasting about how good the team would be the following season, decided to leave before seeing it through. Almost immediately, dreams of a Big 12 title and spot in the College Football Playoff were vanquished, replaced by fears that you and your coaching staff would raid your old roster in hopes of replenishing the one you took over.

Given the pedigree of the Washington program — like, it was just playing for a national title — and the kind of NIL money at your disposal, it seemed likely you would almost have your pick of the Wildcats’ litter, so to speak.

You replaced “It’s Personal” with “Family Travels” and with the portal window that opened upon your departure it was reasonable to expect quite a few trips to be made from the Old Pueblo to the Emerald City.

And credit to you, Jeddrey, you convinced some good players to do just that. Jonah Coleman will be missed, as will Ephesians Prysock, Deuce Davis and Isaiah Ward. There’s also Arizona’s 2024 freshman class, most of whom either never made it to Tucson or had brief stays before departing. Demond Williams Jr. would have been fun to watch in an Arizona uniform, but oh well, we’re still cool.

Because while Arizona would have certainly liked to keep all those players, the important thing is not who left to join you, but rather who did not. Like, most of the team.

That’s not to say there weren’t some stressful times, of course. Whether they would have left to join you or go elsewhere, there were nerves when Tacario Davis and Raymond Pulido, among others, put their names in the portal, but after getting to know the new coaching staff they all decided to stick around.

Noah Fifita? Staying. Tetairoa McMillan and Jacob Manu? Not going anywhere. Speedy Luke, Jonah Savaiinaea, Wendell Moe, Dalton Johnson, Gunner Maldonado, Treydan Stukes and many more: are still Wildcats.

Family Stays sounds a lot better than Family Travels, wouldn’t you say? Maybe you wouldn’t, but it’s understandable if you’re a bit biased.

Perhaps it’s ironic that everything you preached to the players as you brought them in, whether you truly believed it or not, is largely the reason for why you couldn’t bring the bulk off a preseason Top 25 team with you. Further, your exit seems to have really motivated Arizona’s big-money boosters to step up and prop up the program, which likely helped keep players around and may have played a role in securing what seems to be a pretty solid transfer class.

Of course we don’t know how good Arizona will be in 2024 with different coaches in place, but suffice to say Jeddeson, the very fact that players who twice had the option to join you in Washington or go to a number of other programs have decided Brent Brennan and his staff can get them to where they want to go is an encouraging sign.

Not that you probably care too much about what Arizona does going forward, but if even a small part of you has feelings for the program and fans you left behind then you should be happy to know the Cats are in good hands. Brennan seems to genuinely care about and love the University of Arizona as well as his players, and that makes him an easy guy to like and root for.

Apologies if you can’t relate to that, the intent with this letter was not to demean or upset you, Jeddemiah. Again, it is to offer thanks for what you accomplished during your time as the leader of the football program.

Although three years does not seem like a long time, it was tied for the longest tenure you’ve had with any team, college or professional. That should count for something.

In fact, you gave Arizona three good seasons. Well, one really good season, one mediocre season and one season that featured one victory and a loss to NAU. Things were certainly trending upward when you left, and folks were angry because they felt like you were taking the program’s future with you.

But as it turns out Jeddson, you did no such thing. It turns out most of the players you brought to Tucson were too confident and connected to just throw away everything that was built for more money or brighter lights.

That’s your legacy, Jeddthro. OK maybe not your legacy specifically, because you kind of did throw it all away for more money and brighter lights.

But the players you recruited and helped develop are different. They see what the Tucson community and Arizona fan base has to offer, and no doubt their loyalty will not soon be forgotten.

And if not for you, none of this would have been possible.

So thank you, Jeddfrey. For what you did and, maybe more importantly, for what you were unable to do. Not because you didn’t want to, but because you couldn’t. Arizona is in a good place, and none of it would have been possible without you.