Looking closer at Chris Petersen
by John Berkowitz on Oct 14, 2008 1:42 PM PDT
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PrintChris Petersen of Boise State is a name that many of you will be hearing between now and December. The Bronco head man is highly regarded after leading Boise to a 28-3 record and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma.
He may just be the top guy on my list because I happen to think he is one of the best football coaches in the country and would fit in very well at Washington.
The 44 year old Petersen played quarterback at UC Davis from 1983-86. Chris began his coaching career in 1987 as the head freshman coach at UC Davis under coach Jim Sochor. In 1989 he became the receivers coach for the varsity, departing in 1992 to become the quarterbacks coach at Pittsburgh. He moved back west in 1993 to coach the quarterbacks at Portland State, and moved over to the Oregon in 1995 as the receivers coach. In 2002, he became the offensive coordinator at Boise State. He took over the program after Dan Hawkins moved on to Colorado.
Petersen would be a great candidate for any college coaching opening but he is very comfortable living in Boise. Most think that a move to either Washington or Oregon may be the only one's he would really consider since he and his family love living in the Pacific Northwest.
The last time UW had an opening Dan Hawkins was a name that was on most people's lists but he was never reportedly contacted by Todd Turner. You would hope that the Scott Woodward won't make that same type of mistake. Petersen would be an excellent choice as Washington's next head coach.
I am pretty sure the coaching hunt will start with Gary Pinkel of Missouri, but at age 56 I think he will stay in Columbia despite the fond memories of the time he spent in Seattle as a member of Don James staff.
The next guy one everyone's list would be future Seahawk coach Jim Mora. He may be on my list but I am not so sure he is on Woodwards list. Even if he is on UW's list prying him from the Seahawks is pretty unlikely.
With the top two logical candidates out of the way I would think Petersen who is from the Northwest and has existing recruiting networks built would be a great catch. I don't think Chris retires at Boise. Does he wait to see if the Oregon job opens up eventually or does he jump at the tremendous opportunity at Washington? Washington is a tremendous opportunity by the way. There are challenges, but they can be overcome pretty quickly with the right staff leading the program.
Do any of you think that Boise State has better talent on their roster than Washington does currently? Do any of you think that the 2006 Boise State team had more talent on the roister than Oklahoma
The answer to both of those questions is absolutely not!
What comes to mind when I think of Chris Petersen is the famous quote about legendary Alabama Coach Bear Bryant.
"He can take his'n and beat your'n, and he can take your'n and beat his'n."
Petersen in other words does a great job recruiting, developing talent, and coaching his team. He overachives and that was evident earlier this season when his team upended Oregon in Autzen Stadium.
I could see UW offering Petersen close to two million per year which would more than double his current salary. I think that could prove to be very tempting to a guy who wants to continue living in the Pacific Northwest. I would think that is Washington pursues him he would have to give the job serious consideration.
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One of the best coaches in college football
Petersen would be #1 on my list. His teams consistantly have great game plans, are prepared and over achieve. Personally, I’d take Petersen over Pinkel or Mora. If UW is serious about getting this turned around then I think they need to go to Bosie and make Petersen an offer he can’t refuse. Give the guy a house on Lake Washington and a boat to get to work with. Just make sure he doesn’t give any recruits rides without charging them $ 10.00 first.
Petersen
Nicely done, John. I couldn’t agree more.
As much as Pinkel/Mora sound good. Petersen would be the best long term fit for Washington. His age, his PNW knowledge, and he has proven he can DEVELOP talent. We have a ton of young talent. USC should be nervous if we can get him.
I really like the idea of a young, yet experienced and proven coach who would want to stay in the PNW for the rest of his career.
I like Emmertt’s track record at LSU. He got Saban, an experience/proven head coach who was doing quite well at Michigan State. This could be even better.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
The LSU track record
doesn’t translate to UW given the extremely PC nature of UW’s BOR and some big money boosters.
Dr. Emmert is hamstrung by those folks. That is why Ty is still here.
I, too, would love to see Peterson at UW. We’ll see. I like to see Tedford here too but that’s not likely.
The big question in my mind is: What name did Saban give Emmert as his nominee for the UW HC job and can Dr. Emmert get him here?
Jack
Track Record
BOR’s might not want to fire Willingham early, but I don’t see them limiting the amount of money Dr. Emmert wants to spend on a Head Coach. I still think he will be willing to pay big money for a big name.
You bring up another great point – I don’t know of anybody that has mentioned coaches with ties to Saban. I’d be interested to see a list of coaches Saban could recommend.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Saban ties
Pat Hill for one, Muschamp the DC at Texas for another, off the top of my head. I’ve heard Brian Kelly’s name but I’m not sure about Saban ties although Kelly may have been at CMU when Saban was at MSU. I’ve also heard that Dr Emmert already has the new guy all but announced but no name…dangit!!
If they already have a new guy seven games before they fire Willingham they haven’t done enough due diligence,
Rumors John
Tailgating rumors….who knows for sure….Emmert and Wooward…maybe.
I’m not discounting anyone with facial hair, as some do, since I’ve had a mustache since 1971
Jack
Will Petersen be...
a Dan Hawkins who has done very little at Colorado or will he be Urban Meyer…its a risky move. I would love to get a proven winner from a big time conference but Petersen has done some great things in Boise.
Hawkins
Hawkins had a UW type mess to clean up at Colorado, but he took them to a bowl in his second year of rebuilding. They are 3-3 this year and likely headed to a bowl again.
Meyer took the Florida job which means he was loaded with talent from the get go in the most talent loaded state in the country. I don’t think therei s much comparison between the Colorado and Florida jobs.
From what I have heard most people think that Petersen has better potential than Hawkins even though both are highly regarded.
I agree with JB
I think one would have to conclude that Hawkins clearly has Colorado on the right track for the first time since Neuheisel came to the UW.
Shake that hand that shook the hand of Hustlin' Hugh
Petersen
The thing with Petersen is that UW can go all out and try to get him now or, in a few years when Belloti is gone, we will most likely be playing against him as the coach of our biggest rival. = Not good!
Bellotti
I think Tedford, Petersen, and Hawkins are all possible succesors to Bellotti.
The question of course if when does Bellotti go?
If he is going to make a move it will be sooner than later because he is 57 years old.
My gut tells me he retires at Oregon.
True
but at 57 he could retire anytime. There has been talk for years down here in Portland that he would eventually like to move to athletic director at Oregon. This may be forced sooner than later as many are getting sick of the OU defense. Bellotti & D-cordinator Nick Aliotti are very good / best friends so the presure to fire Aliotti may hasten his decision to change positions.
Kirkpatrick
I don’t think Kirkpatrick is going to be stepping down for Bellotti anytime soon.
by John Berkowitz on Oct 15, 2008 10:53 AM PDT reply actions
Petersen is an Excellent Fit
I totally agree that Petersen should be the #1 target once the Pinkel/Mora attempts have been made. I think he would retire at UW, which is what we need. And he is a coach that can win 2-3 games a year on pure schemes and playcalling. He knows how to use the talent he has in order to win and that is what we need. I truly beleive he could take the UW to a bowl game in yr1 if we get him in there immedidately after his BSC game this year.
After Petersen, I think we should take a hard look at Christensen, the OC at Mizzou. He is young as well, and probably ready for a shot. What I like about him is the wide open playcalling that puts points on the board. For better or worse, he scores points and if we are going to lose a game, I at least want to see us put up 40 doing it. That is one of the things that disgusts me about TY is that we continue to not only lose, but it isn’t even entertaining. Open up the playbook a little and have some fun at least.
I really hope Petersen takes it if offered. I would hate to see him pull a Shiano and choose to stay at Boise. Shiano had the MICHIGAN job and turned it down to stay at Rutgers…which is now back to it’s losing ways after Ray Rice graduated
I AM NOT IN FAVOR OF EVEN PURSUING TEDFORD. I simply do not think he is good coach. I think he had one good season and would be afraid that he could be a repeat of what we’ve got with TY—an overrated, overhyped coach. Pass on him and move to someone that would really appreciate the job.
by www.byebyety.com on Oct 15, 2008 7:10 PM PDT reply actions
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