ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
When it came to Chris Petersen, USC's loss was Washington's gain
Then-Washington athletic director Scott Woodward learned of USC's earnest pursuit of his football coach, Steve Sarkisian, at the end of the 2013 regular season, while he was sitting in Sarkisian's office inside Husky Stadium. Immediately, his mind switched gears and looked forward. This was business, not personal, and Woodward was already thinking about who would sit behind the desk next.
"[Sarkisian] was saying, 'Hey, it’s going to be a tough decision,'" said Woodward, now the athletic director at Texas A&M. "I said, 'No, it’s not. I get it.' And he said, 'No, it really is. I’m really torn.' And I said, 'OK, but I’m moving on like you’re going to take this job.'"
USC announced the hiring of Sarkisian on Dec. 3, 2013. Three days later, Washington announced Chris Petersen as his replacement. It came as a surprise to many who thought Petersen would never leave his incredible success at Boise State. He interviewed for the USC job, but it was not offered to him.
The programs meet Saturday in Seattle, and in myriad ways, their fortunes have diverged based on that hiring decision. Sarkisian is now an offensive analyst at Alabama, where he isn't permitted to coach players. He remains mired in litigation with USC over his firing in October 2015 due to alcohol-related issues. The case has been sent to binding arbitration, and the Los Angeles Times reported last week that a hearing is scheduled for January.
USC is under first-year coach Clay Helton, who was the Trojans' interim coach after Sarkisian's termination. The Trojans are 6-3 and 5-2 in Pac-12 play and winners of five in a row since an awful start that included Alabama's 52-6 beatdown in the season opener.
Meanwhile, Petersen, who led Washington to an upset win at USC last season, before Sarkisian was fired, is the toast of Seattle. The Huskies are 9-0, ranked No. 4 and squarely in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff, and Petersen is a front-runner for national coach of the year honors.
A lot of dominoes had to tip over to arrive at this point, and there were more than a few unexpected plot twists. The Point A, though, predates Petersen's decision to leave Boise State after going 92-12 in eight seasons.
Entire article: http://www.espn.com/blog/pac12/post...chris-petersen-uscs-loss-was-washingtons-gain
The "coaching carousel dominoes" really fell in place for the Huskies. USC interviewed Peterson (and didn't offer him), and hired Sark away from Washington who turned out to be an alcoholic (and was subsequently fired by USC). Traditional PAC12 powerhouse USC has not yet fully recovered. Washington was then able to hire Peterson. It all was definitely a win-win-win for the Huskies.