By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: December 6th, 2013 at 1:02 pm EST
Boise State head football coach Chris Petersen has been a candidate for many head football coaching jobs in recent years.
But he would withdraw his name, like he’s done with as recently as Monday with the Southern California job. He also withdrew his name from the Florida Gators job in 2010, before Will Muschamp was hired.
Now, he felt like it was time to leave Boise State. And today, Petersen has been hired by the University of Washington.
The deal for Petersen is not known, but his contract is expected to make him one of the highest-paid head coaches in the Pac-12.
“Coach Petersen’s success and record are extraordinary, but even more impressive is the man himself,” Washington athletic director Scott Woodward said in the statement. “His integrity, work ethic and character make him an outstanding fit and leader of our student-athletes at UW. We are thrilled and proud to call Coach Petersen a Husky.”
Petersen replaced Steve Sarkisian, who accepted the Southern California job on Monday. And Petersen met with Athletic Director Scott Woodward and his Senior Associate Athletic Director Jennifer Cohen last night in Boise, where the sides agreed on the contract.
Boise State was the right fit for his family and professionally for many years. And now, Petersen believes Washington is the right fit for his family and professionally at the right time of his career.
“I know Bronco Nation joins me in thanking Chris Petersen for all he did to advance Boise State’s football program over the past thirteen years,” Boise State president Bob Kustra said in a statement. “He is not only a great coach but a great person and an asset to the community. We were lucky to have him at Boise State and Washington is lucky to get him.”
With Boise State, Petersen was 92-12 in eight years. He also won five conference championships and two BCS wins.
This season, Boise State was 8-4, and even lost to Washington 38-6 in the season opener.
