If anything, new Arizona football coach Jedd Fisch is making a splash in his first few weeks on the job. He made another one on Monday in announcing former UA star Tedy Bruschi will be the Senior Advisor to the head coach.
“Arizona Football just got better today by the addition of another College Football Hall of Famer, New England Patriots Hall of Famer and Arizona Football Ring of Honor member to our staff,” said Fisch in a news release. “Tedy Bruschi represents everything we want from our student-athletes. He knows what it takes to do things right on and off the field and has demonstrated success in all facets of life throughout the years. Tedy is a true friend and ally who understands what it takes to win; respect accountability, selflessness, and enthusiasm. Tedy has always been the best at what he does, and this is another opportunity to bring greatness to our entire program. I want to welcome Tedy and his family back to Tucson. It’s Personal!”
The move had been speculated on for days. He retired from the NFL in 2009. It’s not clear how this new position will affect his job with ESPN.
As Senior Advisor to the Head Football Coach, Bruschi will serve as a member of the executive football management team while serving as a consultant with the entire football staff. He will also assist the head coach in alumni relations, fundraising, social justice initiatives and student-athlete development off the field.
“I am very excited to re-establish my connection to the Arizona Football program,” Bruschi said in the release. “Coach Fisch, and his vision for the program, is the main reason for my new level of involvement. I look forward to assisting Coach Fisch and the program in any way I can as we develop the next generations of Wildcats who are purposeful, resilient, and original. Bear Down!”
Bruschi’s legacy as a Wildcat is as decorated as it is everlasting as one of four Wildcats to be enshrined in the NFF College Hall of Fame. A consensus All-American in 1994 and 1995, Bruschi was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1995 and won the Morris Trophy as the league’s best defensive lineman. He ended his college career in 1995 with 52 sacks, which tied for the most in NCAA history. The California native was a key fixture in Arizona’s “Desert Swarm Defense” that led the nation in scoring defense in 1992 and rushing defense in 1993 as the Wildcats recorded their first 10-win season in program history and defeated Miami in the Fiesta Bowl with Bruschi earning MVP honors.
He was selected in the third round by New England in the 1996 NFL Draft and spent all 13 seasons of his NFL career with the Patriots franchise. Bruschi won three Super Bowls with New England, was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2004 and was named the 2005 NFL Comeback Player of the Year after recovering from a stroke. His philanthropic work includes the creation of “Tedy’s Team” that raises awareness for the American Stroke Association, in which Bruschi has run two Boston marathons in support of. He was also inducted into the Patriots’ Hall of Fame in 2013.
Information for this story was provided by the UA’s sports communications office.
