Jimmie Dougherty, UW’s offensive coordinator, leaving Huskies, report says

On Feb. 3, 2025, Jimmie Dougherty said being appointed Washington’s new offensive coordinator was more than the fulfillment of a professional dream. It went beyond anything he might’ve imagined.

“It’s a huge honor,” Dougherty said during a news conference that day. “One that I take very seriously.”

Nearly a year later, Dougherty, who also served as quarterbacks coach during the past two seasons, is expected to part ways with the Huskies according to a report by CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. While Dougherty did not call plays, his potential departure means coach Jedd Fisch will be searching for his third offensive coordinator in three seasons at UW.

This was Dougherty’s second stint at Washington after previously serving as passing-game coordinator and wide receivers coach for Steve Sarkisian from 2009-12. He was part of Fisch’s first staff at Arizona in 2021, and followed the current Husky coach to UW in 2024. Fisch said Dougherty was the first assistant he asked to join him in Seattle after accepting the Husky coaching job.

Dougherty spent his first season back on Montlake as quarterbacks coach and passing-game coordinator, often serving as Fisch’s most notable assistant in the coaches booth despite not holding the offensive coordinator title.

So Dougherty was a fairly obvious internal candidate to step into the offensive coordinator role after Brennan Carroll, who also served as offensive line coach, left to join his father Pete Carroll and the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders after the 2024 season.

Dougherty’s promotion maintained the continuity that has defined Fisch’s offensive coaching staff at UW. Wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings, tight ends coach Jordan Paopao and running backs coach Scottie Graham were all position coaches with Dougherty on Fisch’s first Arizona staff in 2021. Michael Switzer, who was internally promoted to offensive line coach to replace Carroll, had been a senior analyst on Fisch’s staff since 2022.

“There’s confidence when you’ve done it together, when you’ve been through a rebuild together,” Dougherty said Feb. 3. “You started from the bottom and took it to a certain height. We know what it looks like. We know what it takes.”

During Dougherty’s lone season as offensive coordinator in 2025, the Huskies averaged 34.1 points per game — No. 17 nationally. They also averaged 409.9 yards per game, were a top-10 team in third-down conversion percentage and scored on 50 of their 54 red-zone opportunities.

However, UW’s offense struggled against the best teams on its schedule, totaling just 27 points combined in three games against No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Ohio State and No. 21 Michigan. The only teams Washington faced in 2025 that ended the season ranked in The Associated Press poll. The offense also struggled mightily during a 13-10 upset loss against Wisconsin.

While Fisch continued to be UW’s offensive playcaller, Dougherty played a key part in Washington’s offensive game planning. His relationship with quarterback Demond Williams Jr. was also important, with the young quarterback praising Dougherty’s steady, calming influence after his promotion a year ago.

If Washington chose to terminate Dougherty without cause, the Huskies owe him around $1.1 million as liquidated damages, paid in monthly installments, according to his most recent contract acquired by The Seattle Times. Dougherty is obligated to make “reasonable and diligent efforts” to find a new job. If he is reemployed, UW has no further financial commitments unless his new opportunity pays less than he was making per month at Washington.

If Dougherty chose to terminate his contract because of a new opportunity, he’d owe UW around $275,000. Or, the two parties may mutually agree to simply void the contract.

Fisch and the Huskies, meanwhile, must decide who takes on Dougherty’s vacated positions. There are noteworthy internal candidates for both jobs.

UW hired former Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman, a first-round pick in the 2004 NFL draft, as an offensive quality control coach before the 2025 season. Losman worked extensively with the quarterbacks in 2025. He was designated as one of UW’s 10 off-campus recruiting assistants during the recent recruiting contact period in January, and is a fairly straightforward option to become Washington’s new quarterbacks coach.

If Fisch chooses to continue promoting internally, Cummings seems the most logical option to add the offensive coordinator title. The wide receivers coach has been one of UW’s best recruiters since arriving with Fisch in 2024, and was reportedly considered for the offensive coordinator role at Arizona in an attempt to keep him with the Wildcats when Fisch departed.