Canzano: Coaching carousel is a tough ride
Turnover in "Pac-12" has been wild.
A few summers ago in Hollywood at Pac-12 Football Media Day, I was set up on radio row. My schedule included 37 interviews over seven hours. At the end of the day, I was booked for a 1-on-1 talk with Arizona’s first-year head football coach, Jedd Fisch.
I almost canceled it.
Arizona was picked to finish last in the South Division and my radio show was already off-air for a couple of hours by the time Fisch was supposed to slide into the booth. It wasn’t personal. I was weary and wondered if my audience wanted to hear from Fisch.
Beyond a few Arizona-based radio stations, there was concern among Pac-12 staffers that Fisch wouldn’t have anyone to talk with. Some other media outlets packed up and headed out in the late afternoon. A Pac-12 representative stopped by and persuaded me to keep the interview. And I was glad I did.
Fisch was great.
He talked about working for Bill Belichick and Sean McVay in the NFL. He spoke about coaching Cam Newton, and getting to a Super Bowl. His favorite game show is Family Feud, he said. And Fisch told me, that while growing up, his mother worked as a school psychologist and dated a high school football coach. That’s how an 8-year-old Fisch was introduced to the sport that became his profession.