Ad Disclosure
Washington head coach Chris Petersen to step down after bowl game
Published:
Washington head coach Chris Petersen surprised the college football world on Monday, announcing that he will step down from his position following the Huskies’ bowl game.
Petersen just finished his sixth regular season as the head coach at the University of Washington. Defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake will be the team’s new head coach. Petersen will transition into a leadership at Washington.
“It has been a privilege and a professional dream fulfilled to be part of this world-class institution,” Petersen said. “I will forever be grateful, honored and humbled to have had the opportunity to coach our fine young men on Montlake for these past six seasons. I thank each of them, as well as our coaches and administrative staff for the incredible commitment they’ve made to Husky football during my tenure. The football program and Husky Athletics across the board will continue to prosper – and do it the right way – with Jen Cohen’s leadership and the University administration’s commitment to excellence. I’ll be a Husky for life, but now is the right time for me to step away from my head coaching duties, and recharge.”
Petersen compiled a 54-26 record in six years at Washington and guided the Huskies to bowl games every year. He won Pac-12 titles in 2016 and 2018, and reached the College Football Playoff in 2016.
Before taking over at Washington, Petersen was the head coach at Boise State for eight season, leading the Broncos to a 92-12 overall record, posting two undefeated seasons and winning 10 games or more seven times. Boise State won four WAC titles and a Mountain West championship under Petersen.
In his career, Petersen has a record of 146-38. Washington was 7-5 this season.
Lake has been at Washington since 2014, serving as a defensive backs coach from 2014-15. He was the team’s co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach in 2016 and 2017 before taking over full coordinator duties in 2018 and 2019.
This will be Lake’s first opportunity as a head coach.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB