Jay Schwedelson: We are back for the Do This, NOT That! podcast and this is it. This is the most special episode. We've done over 600 episodes and easily this is the most special episode that we've done. I'm gonna tell you who we have here, but it's not about his background or his resume, it's about something else entirely.

Jay Schwedelson: So lemme first tell you who we got. So we got Jedd Fisch, coach Jedd Fisch. He is the head coach of the Washington Huskies. It is one of the most high profile programs in the entire country, and he's been part of this massive transition into the Big Ten, and he is coming off of a great year. Okay. The program did awesome.

Jay Schwedelson: They went nine and four. They beat Boise State in the LA Bowl, and before that though. He engineered one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent college football history, taking the Arizona Wildcats from one 11 to a 10 win season, top 25 national ranking, and his football resume is. It's ridiculous.

Jay Schwedelson: He's coached under Steve Spurrier, Mike Shanahan, Pete Carroll, Sean McVay, Jim Harbaugh, Bill Belichick, everybody. But that's not why he's important. Maybe he thinks he's important because of that, but that's not it. Here's the real reason. There's the most special episode. Jedd and I, Jedd has been one of my best friends on the planet for over 30 years.

Jay Schwedelson: I met this dude when I was 18 years old. He's was the best man at my wedding. We've been through every ridiculous nonsense thing together, so I'm excited to have on here, we're gonna talk about adversity and life and all the things. This is really weird to say, but Jedd, welcome to the show.

Jedd Fisch: Thank you. What an introduction, Jay. Uh, that was, uh, that was awesome. And, um, it is special. It's special for me too, though. Um, I will say I have been, uh, trying to get on this show for a while now, starting on episode 17. I, I've made it at 601. It sounds like there's been 600 prior, and, uh, it is great to be on here with you and be able to share some cool stories.

Jedd Fisch: I.

Jay Schwedelson: Oh my God, this is so strange for anybody out there who's like, you know, it's a super tight friend and then you bring them into your work world. It's really weird. It's not a normal experience, but, okay, I wanna take everybody back for a second because we're talk about adversity and it's not just like, oh, Jedd lost a game and he came back at halftime and he won a game.

Jay Schwedelson: This dude has been through stuff. That honestly, literally would've killed most people, but also would've killed almost every career. So I wanna take us back to something that happened super early on in your career. Um, and you had the, the ultimate health scare disaster. Take everybody through what happened, and then I wanna layer in some, some things that I saw happen.

Jedd Fisch: Sure. Uh, so I, I think you're referring to the health scare of an aortic aneurysm that I had in 2003, not the broken hand. I had in a swim meet back in 87. So, um, in 2003 I was, uh, 26 years old. Yeah, 26, uh, getting to, and Amber and I, who was my girlfriend at the time, wife now, um, were out jogging in Houston and I felt like this massive knife went right in the middle of my back and, uh, I couldn't understand what it was.

Jedd Fisch: I wound up kind of going down, getting back up and thought that my back just went into really bad spasm. And, um, that was on a, a Saturday morning. Run and, um, that throughout that day the back never felt any better. And, you know, I went into a hot tub, which wasn't very smart. I found out later Sunday I was waiting all day and just thought it was getting, watching the final, or a grade eight or whatever it was, watching the Gators play.

Jedd Fisch: And then on Monday at about 5:00 PM I realized like I was having a hard time breathing. So the back spasm was a little more significant than I thought. And, um, I called a buddy of mine in, in Houston and I said, Hey, I need to, I need you to bring me to the emergency room. Um, I was on the phone with our team doctor and I, without being in the NFL at that time, I was dead.

Jedd Fisch: There's no question about it because you don't have the type of concierge medicine back then as we have, and now more people get it. But, um, he was, he was following it all the way throughout and he said, Jedd, you need to come in and. About six hours later. Um, I, it was like 12 30, 1 o'clock in the morning.

Jedd Fisch: They allowed me to stay in the hospital. They didn't want me to. And I, uh, I called my girl, I called up Amber and I said, Hey, um, I think I'm having a heart attack, but don't call my mom. Okay. That was the big one. Um, two hours later.

Jay Schwedelson: that You called, you called me at five 30 in the morning. And And you said, tell all the boys I love them.

Jedd Fisch: Yeah, well, yeah, I think it was, uh, it got a little scary at that point between like the 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM shift, 2:00 AM where they brought in a, the, a surgeon came in and, um, you know, this, you know, my mom, you know my dad very well. My mom asked for a second opinion. Not the move to make when you're having emergency surgery.

Jedd Fisch: So, uh, they said, no, this is, this is the only opinion and we're going in to get operated on. And I think the operation started probably, probably 10 minutes after I called you. Um, and, um, you know, it wasn't a very. Safe operation. It wasn't one in which, you know, my aorta dissected all the way, um, really throughout my, by my heart and then all the way straight down that, um, I had to do, they called it type one dissection.

Jedd Fisch: Um, the doctor, Dr. Elli, it was world renowned heart surgeon. Um, he used the example that, um. If it was hanging on by a string, the string was as thin as dental floss, uh, to be able to survive the surgery. And, uh, had to have two of those, as you know, six days later, had to go back in for the second one. And I think you, I don't know if you, did you make it into Houston right after the second

Jay Schwedelson: Right after it.

Jedd Fisch: Yeah. And, um, but it was wild. It was, uh, the first five days I was in ICU, so it wasn't worth coming in. And, um, but, uh, very grateful. Uh, I do remember lying in bed and asking Dom Capers, um, if I still had a job. And I think, well, he said, I think he said, we'll worry about that later. Let's just, kind of survive this moment.

Jay Schwedelson: So, and for everybody out there, imagine you're starting a career. 'cause this was really Jedd starting his career. He had just finished being a grad assistant, uh, with the football program at the University of Florida. Really the lowest level you could possibly be in a football program. I mean, he was barely in the program.

Jay Schwedelson: And then he gets his first opportunity with the Houston Texans, which was a new franchise. I mean, it was literally, there was no team really. Right. And so, and Jedd, within the Houston Texans was the lowest man on the totem pole. People probably didn't even know he worked there at the time. And then this all happens.

Jay Schwedelson: And now imagine you're in your career and this is happening to you. It would take almost everybody else off course. I mean, Jedd almost literally like died. Like he died multiple times on, on that table. But coming out of it. The thing that always struck me was, first of all, I came to see you, you were a disaster.

Jay Schwedelson: I mean, the guy was like, in rigor mortis. He looked like a mummy. He was walking around like a cane. It, it wasn't the guy that I knew from college that, you know, we could crush a few beers together. Right. But you, you maintain like a positive mindset. You maintained like, I wanna get back to work you, like, do you just read like, you know, Tony Robbins stuff Every minute you wake up?

Jay Schwedelson: How did you not let yourself go down a slippery slope?

Jedd Fisch: Yeah. I'd say the biggest thing, Jay, was the people around me. Like, you know, I, I actually, uh, did a podcast with David Carr last week and we were talking about this and he, like, he was the first player to come visit me. And, you know, you're 26 and my, you know, we'll get into it a little bit about how I even got involved in coaching, but like, you feel like you're hanging on for dear life anyway.

Jedd Fisch: Right? And now you're like, oh my God, this is like a real problem. Like if I can't make it back or if I'm not a hundred percent, I have no chance. But David and Kylie Wong and Dom Capers and those guys that were like visiting it made you feel like you did matter, even though you knew you were on the bottom of the bottom.

Jedd Fisch: You were recognized and you were known and the players cared. And um, that was probably the inspiration, was how much people cared about you. And I think anybody rep, you know, you don't realize that until you go through something traumatic about how many people are willing to, to check on you and see how you're doing.

Jedd Fisch: And, and that was my biggest inspiration, that like, wow, if these guys actually do know who I am and do care how I'm doing, then I have to get back and I have to do a great job.

Jay Schwedelson: It. It is really amazing. I don't think people realize it enough. I'm learning it more. I wish I realized it more early in my career. People are willing to help you if you ask for help. People, people will help you in your career. And, and so just to finish up that story, one piece of it, which I also always took something away from, was that, so maybe like a month or two after the surgery I was getting married.Jay Schwedelson: Okay. And, um, long before Jedd had his, uh, uh, medical disaster, I'd asked Jedd to be the best man in my wedding. And I, and, and, and I was like, well, Jedd's not coming to my wedding. I was in Florida, he was in Texas, and I didn't expect him to, 'cause I'd be ridiculous. The guy literally, uh, couldn't, you know, stand up and, and get to his couch.

Jay Schwedelson: And so I remember I called Jedd, I'm like, Jedd. I don't worry about it. I, you're my guy, but don't even think about coming. He goes, no, I'll be there. I'm like. What do you mean you're gonna be there? You can't, you can't be anywhere. You're not physically able to be anywhere and the, and, and it's about showing up for your friends.

Jay Schwedelson: It's about being there for each other. It was a lesson that I learned that stuck with me the rest of my life is that, you know, when you have friends like that, that will show up and he, so he got his ass on a plane, whatever was left of his ass, he got his ass on a plane and he showed up and he gave just about the best, best man speech anybody ever gave.

Jay Schwedelson: Because everyone's like, I'm listening to the guy who's half dead, I gotta pay attention. So. So thank you for showing up.

Jedd Fisch: Yeah. Well, yeah, thank you for not cutting me out and then making, giving somebody else the job. I know there was a few of our buddies were probably trying to lobby for that spot. Uh,

Jay Schwedelson: they're idiots.

Jedd Fisch: yes, but it was, um, yeah, I guess I got out of the ICU April 22nd or 23rd, and I believe that your wedding was in June.

Jedd Fisch: Right? Uh.

Jay Schwedelson: that's right.

Jedd Fisch: So, yeah, it was a little tight turnaround. We'll call it a tight turnaround. But, um, you know, you, you do everything you can man, you do for the people that you know, do everything they can for you. And, um, I remember, you know, just the visits from the, you know, in the hospital and I, I can't imagine like some of the crazy videos people sent and like.

Jedd Fisch: I mean, you know, sometimes you didn't wanna laugh 'cause it hurts so bad, you know, like you're all like wired and you're laughing and you shouldn't be laughing. But the best thing about our friendship, our friends, our friend group, I mean, everyone makes everyone laugh. Whether they make fun of people or make funny things happen.

Jedd Fisch: At least I would tell you the joy is what kept me going.

Jay Schwedelson: Yeah, and it's so great 'cause also a lot of times, you know, Jedd will be on TV coaching the game and we'll just make a screenshot of Jedd and we'll text it to each other. Like, look at what he's wearing. He looks like an idiot right now. You know, it's like no matter what and he, it doesn't matter where everybody gets in life, we're all still the same.

Jay Schwedelson: Do Thises, which is, which is. Amazing. Uh, alright. But I wanna go back a little bit though for everybody that maybe feels imposter syndrome, because a lot of people right now, they're not in the football world, they're not in the sports world or any of that stuff, but in their careers they're like, well, I wanna break in.

Jay Schwedelson: I wanna be the head of social media over here. I wanna, I wanna start this business over here, but I don't how to do that. I don't know anybody in that field. Uh uh I know my, my parents weren't in that business. I don't know how to do that. So, so your crazy, wild other story is that Jedd's now the head coach of this major Big Ten college football program.

Jay Schwedelson: I mean, one of the biggest programs in the country. The dude never played football. He's not like some former linebacker that did whatever. Okay. And he didn't have, it wasn't like he had a mom or dad that was, uh, on the ring of honor at some football stadium. Zero burger. So how do you break in, how do you feel the confidence to break in?

Jay Schwedelson: How did you break into the world of football?

Jedd Fisch: Yeah. Um, it's just what I wanted to do. I, I don't even know if there's a better way to describe it. It's like, I had this mission and I was like, I'm going to Florida. My dad's a lawyer, right? You know, that. Um, my dad said to me, well, if you're gonna go to Florida, like if, what do you wanna do for a living? I said, I want to coach football.

Jedd Fisch: He said, that is a weird answer that it ain't weird. Uh, but I said, that's what I wanna do. And he goes, okay, well where do you want to do it at? And I said, I don't know the best place where they have the best football coach. And he suggested, he goes, well, who do you think that is? And I said, Steve Spurrier at Florida, and I'm from New Jersey.

Jedd Fisch: And, um, applied to Florida. And he's like, okay. And I tried to get every job equipment manager, you know, a student assistant. Um, worked in the training room. I tried every job that they let me do. I got none of them. I got turned down for every single job at Florida, as you know, I still went to school there.

Jedd Fisch: I said, all right, I'll try the fraternity route where we met. Um, or, and, but at that point, I'm not gonna quit. I'm gonna figure out a way. I didn't come to Florida. To just being a frat and just whatever, you know, go to law school or whatever it might have been. So I started leaving notes on Coach Spurrier's windshield, day in and day out, and I just kept saying, you know what?

Jedd Fisch: There's gotta be a way. I went and I asked for a meeting. They said, no meeting. I went and asked for another meeting. They said, no meeting. I said, all right, I'll just keep leaving notes until there's a meeting. And I would show up there and I would leave something ridiculous and I'd do a lot of work and I'd leave like an ID and then I would send a note saying, this is how I think I could help.

Jedd Fisch: And finally, man, you live. You lived it. I mean, it was like a year and a half later, you know, I was coaching at PK Young High School. I took a high school coaching job. I ran into Dwayne Dixon and Buddy Tevin and Coach Dixon's like, well, you can come and like work in my office when no one's there and you could like, you know, find, take a TV game of a football game and then take another VCR tape and you could put a play on a tape and then a play on a tape.

Jedd Fisch: And that's what I did. And then I became like the turn the lights off coach. Then I became, you know, the Make a Photocopy coach and then Coach Spurrier, I think he got my name right last year. Uh, no, I think so. You know, I mean, I was je I was JI was, you name it. Um, but it just, I'm like, this is what I'm gonna do and I'm not gonna quit until I get a chance.

Jay Schwedelson: Uh, you see, I love that attitude, and that's what everybody needs to realize. You don't, you just have to keep pushing you and things will happen. It may not even be exactly what you want or who knows, but it will happen. And the funniest part about Coach Spurrier, you know, Jedd had to break in. Coach Spurrier wouldn't give him the time of day, whatever.

Jay Schwedelson: Then you fast forward, I'm at Jedd's wedding, okay? Years later. And Jay goes, I, I need you to, uh, um, will you drive Coach Spurrier to the wedding from the hotel? I'm like, great. I wanna hang out with Coach Spurrier. So I drive to the wedding and then I'm at the wedding and it's like the cocktail party or whatever.

Jay Schwedelson: I'm at one end of like the cocktail party and all of a sudden I hear this voice going, Jay Jay, come over, hang out over here. I look over, I'm like. That is Coach Spurrier yelling for me to come over and hang out, and it went from Jedd leaving notes on this guy's car. He probably thought he was a psycho to Spurrier, like wanting to do like the Macarena at the wedding.

Jay Schwedelson: I mean, it's amazing. It was amazing.

Jedd Fisch: You know what's amazing now is like you could never get away with that. Like if someone was leaving notes day in and day out, you'd be like, full on. Stuck. Full on, you know, you got up police department everywhere, you know, back then it was just like partial stalker, but no one knew what the word stalker meant. So it was like, oh, this is just a weird guy, you know, versus full on stalker. So like when people ask me how do I break in? I'm like, not my way. Do not do it my way. Chances are not your favor, find a different route. But in the end, the number one route is don't quit. I don't care what the route is. Just don't quit.

Jay Schwedelson: Well, speaking of quitting, I'm curious about, I, I, so totally different route here. So before you, uh, a Husky, right? You were the head coach at the University, University of Arizona, and I could say this, you can't, it was a hot mess when you got there, right? The one in 11 situation and you turned that thing around.

Jay Schwedelson: I mean, turn around to a top 15 program in the country, win the Alamo Bowl, the whole thing, but. For everybody else that's out there. Also, they may walk into a business situation where a company's not doing well, a department's not doing well, and now they have to convince everybody this new plan that they got is gonna be the thing that really gets us going.

Jay Schwedelson: So you're walking into this room with this group of guys that are one 11. You guys are. You know, nobody thinks you guys can do anything. How do you get everybody on the same page buying into a plan when historically whatever plan they've been doing was just not working at Arizona? How did you get that turnaround to happen so fast?

Jedd Fisch: Yeah. Um, that was an interesting one. The, the thing that I thought was the best part about it. So we go in there, the last game they played before they hired me, they lost 70 to seven to Arizona State. Right. And I got a call the next day, got offered a job, a week or two later I was coaching in New England.

Jedd Fisch: Um, I went there and I kind of took this philosophy of like. You can't tell me what you were doing was working. So we're gonna try something brand new. We're gonna have a different approach. We're gonna, the messaging on the walls are gonna be completely different. The everything's gonna look and feel new.

Jedd Fisch: We're gonna have to, we're not gonna, we're gonna change. The first thing we're gonna do is gonna change the offices because we are not gonna sit in offices that didn't have a winning record. We're not gonna sit in offices that just went at a 12 game losing streak. We're just not doing it. And then we go one in 11.

Jedd Fisch: So now the program is one in 23 over a two and a half year span, and they're looking at me and they're like, you came in here and changed everything and you got one win, you know? And I said, no, I changed everything for the future. You know, we're just working through it right now and you, we just didn't change our philosophy.

Jedd Fisch: We just stuck to it. We stuck to it and we had 20 so kids that just bought into what we were saying and that recruiting class. Tmac, who's number eight overall pick. Noah fta. Uh, Jonah Coleman. You know, you just start naming 'em, right? Anthony War, you, Isaiah War, you start naming all these guys, price Sock and Rio Davis, they all bought in and they all just said, you know what, we believe in what your your mission is.

Jedd Fisch: And I told the, I told our staff, we are not gonna sell anything 'cause we have nothing to sell. We're just gonna tell 'em what we're gonna do for 'em, and we're going to build a relationship and we're gonna make it totally transformational and not transactional at all. And we went five and seven that year then, and then we went 10 and three and finished 11th in the country, um, the next year.

Jedd Fisch: And, uh, it was all about just relationships and belief.

Jay Schwedelson: Were there, were there things along the way though that like you had to motivate yourself because you're always motivating. Other people, like how do you wake up in the morning and be like, I'm assuming not every day you wake up and be like, yeah, every hooray another amazing day. How do you self-motivate, especially when you hit like a bump in the road, you lose a big game, you lose a player, you lose a recruit, you, how do you self-motivate?

Jedd Fisch: Yeah, the hardest challenge for sure was, you know, showing up, thinking you're gonna flip a program and going one to 11, right? Like, and staying positive and trying to make sure and realize that it's not if like, whatever I come in with, you know, when you're the boss. Whatever your personality of the day is, or mood of the day is.

Jedd Fisch: The it, it filters through the whole building, right? Your whole office. Your whole company. Um, well, same with us. Like if I came in down, we had no chance because then everybody would be down and if I came in ultra positive, we had a chance. So I just got into my car every day and I just told myself like, the only chance I have to live my dream.

Jedd Fisch: Is to make every, bring everybody along with me until, until I could start serving them one day. But right now I gotta just bring 'em with me. I gotta just bring 'em with me and just continuing to make everybody feel like, hey, this is gonna happen. And when it does happen, I used to say there's gonna be a 30 for 30 written about this one.

Jedd Fisch: And um, that was our messaging. And you go through ups and downs and ups and downs and um, I think coaches are at their best. You know, I think the best coaches are at their best after losses. You know, after a win, it's not that hard, right? You gotta be able to stay on top and keep 'em getting better and better and better.

Jedd Fisch: But how do you handle adversity? How do you handle defeat? And how do you not let the same team beat you twice? And that was our big message always.

Jay Schwedelson: Yeah, I think that's, that positive attitude really is something, 'cause everyone does feed off of. Whoever is leading that department, that company, you know, that, whatever. So, all right. Before we wrap up though, I, I, I am curious about something, 'cause something I'm impressed at by you is, um, you, you're very, you're still, you're very accessible.

Jay Schwedelson: You have a lot going on. Okay. You definitely have a lot going and a lot of people have a lot going on, but you in particular have a lot going on and you, you seem to make, you always make time for your friends, uh, for your family. Um, you seem to kind of be like, there's like four jets. He's kinda like all over the place in, in a good way.

Jay Schwedelson: And is that, are you intentional about carving out time for things like that? You say, listen, I got, I gotta make sure I touch base with my buddies, I gotta make sure I do this, that, or whatever. Is that an intentional thing or are you just rapid fire all day?

Jedd Fisch: Now, you know, I saw this saying a while back that says like, you could be on a really long journey, but it comes to a very fast end and you don't never know, right? You could be going, going, going, going, boom, and it's over. And what happened to me obviously in 2003, like that does still stick with you. And like I would sooner.

Jedd Fisch: And my dad, my passed away at 63, my brother passed away at 53. So like, you know, we're 49, about to turn 50. And you realize like when they, when they were this age, our age, they felt like we feel, you know, they felt healthy and great and ready to take on the world. And then something happens and it gets taken and then they don't have the next day.

Jedd Fisch: And I think that I just try to feel like if I don't spend time with my buddies and then I don't get to spend time with my buddies anymore, that would suck. And if I don't spend time at work committing to trying to make this amazing, and then we don't make it amazing, that would suck. And so, and then of course, with Amber and the girls.

Jedd Fisch: Like if I'm not a great dad or a great husband, then why does any of it matter, right? Like so trying to balance it all, and then I believe that the program needs to be marketed constantly. I am like, I believe that our only opportunity to truly take it to, you know, we're in the Big Ten and we're new there, we're far in the country, right?

Jedd Fisch: We're not clo, we're not in the middle of the country, we're not in the Southeast, we're far northwest. And like, you gotta stay relevant. You gotta make people still understand what's going on. And you gotta have people see you and you know, the W's gotta flash and, um. You know, I was in the Caribbean a couple weeks ago and I'm walking, uh, down the street and I got a, there's a dude in a W hat.

Jedd Fisch: And, um, it's just cool to see people constantly. So you, we, we always are trying to be everywhere and uh, you know, it's probably wears myself down sometimes, but I think it's the most important thing.

Jay Schwedelson: Well, this was awesome. Um, I don't wanna say thank you 'cause screw off. Uh, but, but this was, uh, uh, we'll have to do a round two. There's, there's just so much more nonsense we could talk about. And, uh, listen man, you're my guy. I appreciate you. Go Huskies, any partying words for the, uh, the marketing world that's out there?

Jedd Fisch: well, uh, I'm a little confused why you're not in costume. Uh, some of these I've seen you've been in costume. I did have hot dogs available for a hot dog eating competition with Joey if he jumped on. I, um, but I do say this, Jay, you have done an unreal job of, you know, changing the game. Uh, in terms of social media, in terms of, you know, the media marketing that you do in terms of being able to get yourself out there, the TED Talks are phenomenal.

Jedd Fisch: Um, I do enjoy those. I really do. I can't wait for your book. I cannot, where is your

Jay Schwedelson: right here. I got a fresh coffee. It's not out yet. April Stupider people have.

Jedd Fisch: I know. My Amber's like, Hey, Ali. Called Jay wrote a book. So I bought three dozen. I go, what? How much does this thing cost? No. Uh, so I'm fired up about all of that. You know what Stupider people have done it. Is that the title?

Jay Schwedelson: That's it. You nailed it.

Jedd Fisch: Yeah. Well I appreciate you man, and you guys have definitely nailed it.

Jedd Fisch: And I would just tell everybody, man, it's my dad wrote this in my yearbook in high school. It is better to try and fail than fail to try and suffer the Ines loss of what might have been. And that's how we live our life

Jay Schwedelson: Great. Jedd Fisch, man. A legend. A legend. Uh, and Jedd is a legend. Um, all right, my guy. Appreciate you. We'll do it again soon.

Jedd Fisch: Thanks, pal.Jay Schwedelson: All right.