UA football head coach Jedd Fisch working hard to create own culture

The new head coach of the Arizona Wildcats’ football program, Jedd Fisch, said Tuesday that he is working hard not only to change the past culture but create his own.

Fisch during the Pac-12 Conference’s Media Day in San Francisco said he is thrilled with where the program is going and where it has gone in the seven months since he was hired on Dec. 23.

“We talk about from the very beginning on an expectation of really taking a mindset of becoming a pro,” Fisch said. “When we say becoming a pro, we talk to our players about being purposeful, being resilient and being original in everything we do.

“We talk to our team about the values that we have in our program and how important it is that we don’t need to live in a world of rules as long as we live in a world of values, and our program and our team has completely embraced it.”

Fisch has experience at the pro level of the sport, working in various roles with the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams and, most recently, New England Patriots.

He also has experience at the collegiate level with a variety of universities, including serving as interim head coach at UCLA for the season’s final games — including the Cactus Bowl — in 2017.

Fisch’s job in his first head coaching role involves inheriting a program that has suffered three straight losing seasons, including an 0-5 record last year before predecessor Kevin Sumlin was fired.

While realizing the team has had a few down years, Fisch said the team talks about winning culture and doesn’t dwell on the past.

“We got to turn this thing around. Our goal is to win and win as much as we possibly can and win as many games as we possibly can for as long as we can,” Fisch said.

Fisch wasn’t surprised when the Pac-12 media poll picked his team to finish last in the South but said the team just has to go out there and play really well and see what happens.

“That’s just on past performances. No one has seen our team,” Fisch said.

Preseason practice begins Aug. 5, and the team starts the season against Brigham Young in Las Vegas on Sept. 4.