SEATTLE — This city is home to grunge rock gods, tech billionaires and a ubiquitous retail giant. Downtown, a King holds court in the summer and a recent Super Bowl champion dominates sports-talk radio in the fall.
Surrounded by mountains and water, there is plenty to do in and around the Emerald City, and it does not rain quite as much as its reputation suggests.
For Washington’s Chris Petersen, college football’s most unassuming star coach, Seattle is the perfect place to build a powerhouse program on a foundation of well-ordered priorities.
While Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh and Dabo Swinney could stop traffic in their towns, Petersen can spend a day at the mall or a night out with his wife without drawing so much as a “Good luck, coach” here.
“I don’t think Chris Petersen minds at all. Other college coaches probably would. I think it fits right to the nature and personality of Petersen that he doesn’t have to be the center of attention,” said former Washington quarterback and Seattle radio host Brock Huard.
Of course, it is only year three for Petersen at U-Dub. If the sixth-ranked Huskies (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12) keep playing as they have this season, Petersen might reach the celebrity status in Seattle currently held by Mariners Cy Young Award winner “King” Felix Hernandez, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, or Wilson’s coach, Pete Carroll — whether he likes it or not. (He will not).
Washington is two victories away from its first Pac-12 championship since 2000 and maybe a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Not since Don James was regularly taking the Huskies to Rose Bowls from 1975-92 have Washington fans felt so comfortable with their coach.
Petersen, 52, has a runner’s wiry frame, a just-right wave in his salt-and-pepper hair that would make an anchorman jealous and an “aw-shucks” demeanor.
He loves the water and his office view of Lake Washington and Mount Rainier. He comes across as an effortlessly cool dad.
The son of a high school and junior college football coach from Northern California, Petersen did not want to follow in his father Ron’s footsteps growing up in Yuba City.
“I would go to his games and I think I would care more about winning and losing more than half the players that I saw on the sidelines,” Petersen said recently in his office. “And I would tell my Mom, like, there is no way I would coach and let 18 year olds control my happiness.
“To this day she’s like, ‘Don’t complain to me. You knew what you were getting yourself into.”‘
Petersen played quarterback at Division II UC Davis, undersized but fast. He was a star at a place where the team shared its locker room with students and faculty.
“I think there’s certainly no sense of entitlement coming out of somewhere like that,” Petersen said. “We didn’t have anything. We had pads and football gear. We didn’t have any sweats or shirts or any of that stuff. I think we bought our own cleats.”
Petersen worked his way up the career ladder carefully and somewhat reluctantly to become head coach at Boise State.
“Every job I’ve taken I’ve not wanted to go, but just felt like I need to do this,” he said.
