It’s a situation that happens to all of us at one point or another in our lives.
You’re sitting at your desk at work, going about your day. By no means is this a bad job. It pays well, it’s stable and you’re essentially doing something you love. It’s a good position.
Out of nowhere, you’re offered a similar position at a different company. The work is essentially the same, but the pay is greater, the employees you’re looking over are more experienced, and the new company you would work for would give your name a much higher level of prestige.
Seems like a good opportunity right? Who wouldn’t take that offer up? I know I would.
That’s why I can’t blame Jedd Fisch for his decision to leave Miami.
Fisch, formerly the offensive coordinator for the Hurricanes since 2010, accepted an offer with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars for the same position on Saturday morning. Before coming to Miami, Fisch had previously worked as the quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks, and it was widely speculated that at some point he would like to return to the NFL.
I can see where Hurricanes fans would have a problem with the move. The timing of it wasn’t the best, with the move taking place in the middle of a huge recruiting weekend and just a few weeks away from National Signing Day. Miami is already awaiting the Notice of Allegations due at any moment from the NCAA in the Nevin Shapiro case, and didn’t need any more material for other schools to negatively recruit against them.
But as many of us would do in our own lives, when the opportunity comes up, it’s hard to just let it go. Especially in the NFL, where there are only 32 positions available, you can’t just assume another one will open up next year. Even if it does, the situation may not be the same.
So when the position became available, I can’t blame Fisch for wanting to transition himself back into the NFL. He wasn’t going to stay in Miami forever, and it may not be long before he possibly finds a head-coaching job soon after, depending on how well he does. With the Canes, he helped quarterback Stephen Morris develop into an offensive threat and led Miami’s 36th ranked offense.
Whoever is hired to replace him will pick up the reins of an offense that returns 10 starters. It will remain to be seen whether the team will be able to pick up where they left off last season.
But as unfortunate as it may be for the Hurricanes to lose out on a bright mind like Fisch, you can’t blame him for taking a better position (arguments about Jacksonville’s offensive futilities aside, just about any NFL position has to be considered an upgrade). Personally, I hope he does well, and he should.
Ernesto Suarez is the sports editor of The Miami Hurricane. He was born and raised in Miami.
In The Locker Room is a blog dedicated to the topics that consume the sporting world, both inside and out of Hurricane athletics, as well as the occasional digression into into the realms of music and entertainment.