Washington University in St. Louis

Jeff Fisher enters his tenth season as the Washington University in St. Louis defensive coordinator and 11th overall on the Bears’ staff. He spent his first season serving as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.
 
In his nine seasons at WashU, the Bears have won a pair of University Athletic Association (UAA) titles, captured the 2016 Southern Athletic Association (SAA) championship and advanced to the 2016 NCAA Division III Playoffs. The playoff appearance was the third in school history.
 
In 2024, the Bears finished the season 8-2, marking the fewest losses since 2018 and the second time in three seasons with eight wins.
 
The Bears went 7-3 in 2023 for third place in the CCIW. In 2022, the Bears posted an 8-3 record, finishing third in the CCIW with a 7-2 mark. WashU made its second-straight trip to the Culver’s Isthmus Bowl, playing UW-River Falls.
 
In 2021, WashU finished with a 7-4 overall record as an associate member in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). The Bears finished third place in the CCIW with a 7-2 mark. WashU earned a bid to the school’s first-ever bowl game, the Inaugural Culver’s Isthmus Bowl, against Wisconsin-River Falls.
 
In 2018, WashU posted an 8-2 overall record in the program's first season as an associate member in the CCIW. The Bears finished in third place in the CCIW with a 7-2 mark. WashU upset then No. 12-ranked Wheaton College (Ill.) 17-10 on Oct. 13 for its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2010. The Bears were third in the conference in scoring defense (22.0).
 
Fisher was added to the Bears’ coaching staff for the 2015 season as a part-time coach after spending three seasons as head coach at NAIA Lindenwood University-Belleville.
 
Fisher has 25+ years of college coaching experience, including 16 as a member of the McKendree University staff. He served as offensive coordinator for the Bearcats, ranking in the top 10 the in NAIA in rushing offense every year from 1997 to 2010. In 2008, McKendree was third in the NAIA in rushing offense after leading the organization in the same category in each of the previous two years. Fisher was named the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League Assistant Coach of the Year in 1999.
 
Prior to McKendree, Fisher served as co-defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons at the University of Dubuque. He began his coaching career in 1993 as a defensive assistant at his alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan University. As a player at IWU, he was starting linebacker on an undefeated, national quarterfinal team and graduated in 1993 with degrees in history and education.
 
A native of Cambria, Ill., Fisher graduated from Carterville High School. He and his wife, Meg, have two children, Nick and Ellie. Meg served as the diving coach at WashU for 11 years.

Update July 2025