Could Washington reunite with a former staffer?

The Washington Huskies may be looking to reunite with a former staff member.

Jedd Fisch should be looking to make at least one more addition to his coaching staff ahead of his second season with the Washington Huskies. He’s lost two staffers so far this offseason, with defensive coordinator Steve Belichick heading to North Carolina for the same position and safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri taking the defensive coordinator role at Jacksonville State.

Fisch has already made one strong hire, bringing in former Purdue head coach Ryan Walters as his new defensive coordinator, but has yet to make any other additions, leaving him with one less assistant coach than he had during the 2024 season.

However, an intriguing name with some ties to Washington became available on Sunday afternoon, when multiple outlets reported that Oregon State defensive coordinator Keith Heyward resigned from his position, which he had held for just one year.

Although Heyward doesn’t have any ties to Fisch, he was Washington’s defensive backs coach in 2012 and 2013 before following coach Steve Sarkisian to USC. If Fisch is looking to bring in a safeties coach to leave John Richardson to work with the cornerbacks in 2024, Heyward would be a strong option thanks to his abilities as both an on-field coach and recruiter.

However, the Huskies would have to overcome a few obstacles to secure his services.

According to USA TODAY’s assistant coach salary tracker, Heyward made $725,000 in 2024 with the Beavers, while Sunseri made $400,000 in his first season coaching safeties.

Even if Fisch felt comfortable matching his salary, which would make him the fourth-highest-paid assistant coach on staff, there’s no guarantee that Heyward, who spent the 2023 season as a quality control assistant with the Las Vegas Raiders, isn’t mulling a return to the NFL level.