Everett, Wash.
Published: Monday, December 8, 2008

ANALYSIS

Sarkisian must first heal his new players

Steve Sarkisian, who will be introduced as head football coach at UW today, has a big job ahead

By John Boyle
Herald Writer

 SEATTLE -- Steve Sarkisian will walk into Husky Stadium's Don James Center this morning to be introduced as Washington's next head football coach, and then the 34-year-old will begin the unenviable task of trying to clean up a great big purple and gold mess.

The Huskies have issues -- lots of them -- as is evident by this year's winless season that will go down as the new low point in Husky football history, and Sarkisian, a 34-year-old who is about to become a head coach for the first time in his life, will find that the team he is now in charge of is quite a bit different than the USC juggernaut he's leaving.

Sarkisian will go from the offensive coordinator of one of the country's best teams to the head coach of the country's only winless team. Sarkisian will see a noticeable drop in talent when he begins evaluating his new team, a gap he'll hope to close over time through recruiting.

But more than recruiting or Xs and Os, Sarkisian most immediate focus needs to be on healing the Huskies.

Zero wins and 12 losses certainly took its toll on a young Washington football team, and Sarkisian's first task will be to help the team recover from a terrible season.

"Bring some fire to these guys," senior cornerback Mesphin Forrester said when asked what advice he'd give the new coach. "Going 0-12, a lot of guys are down on themselves, especially the freshmen. He needs to bring some fire in and out of the locker room and these guys got to have a passion for football and it'll be all right."

This was obviously not the most talented Husky football team we've seen in recent years, but strictly from a personnel standpoint, Washington had no business going 0-12. There's enough talent coming back from a young team that the Huskies can be substantially better next season, but to do that they first need to remember how to be a team again. As Washington prepared for its final game last week several players talked about a team that wasn't always on the same page.

"I don't know," sophomore safety Nate Williams answered when asked if there was enough accountability on the team. "I think everyone handles their business in their own way, and I think that we all need to be on the same page no matter what the situation is, no matter what happens, no matter who comes in, we all need to be on the same page. Workouts, practice, meetings, we all need to be on the same page from August until January so we can focus on winning games. I think that's what we need to focus on."

Williams and other teammates rightly pointed out that fixing that problem falls first and foremost on their shoulders, not a new coach's, but Sarkisian will be off to a great start at Washington if he can get through to his players and get them to buy into whatever message he's preaching.

"At some point a man has to decide that if he doesn't want to do something one way, nobody can change that, so you've got to make a personal decision if you want things to change," quarterback Jake Locker said. "But I don't disregard the fact that you get the right guy in here, and he's able to institute a different kind of mentality then it might be something that pushes him towards making that decision a little bit easier."

Sarkisian needs to have that different kind of mentality Locker is talking about, because whatever was going on this year, it certainly wasn't working.

Tyrone Willingham continued to say it was "business as usual" ever since his firing was announced, but business as usual only led to more losses.

After Saturday's loss, freshman tight end Kavario Middleton said that, while most players gave good effort, "You have some guys who were ready to get on the bus."

Obviously being in Seattle and not around USC's program, I don't know the inner workings of that team, but I have a hard time imagining that Trojans, the perennial Pac-10 champs, aren't a much more cohesive unit than the Huskies.

Whatever it is that Pete Carroll is selling to his players, they're buying. UW president Mark Emmert and athletic director Scott Woodward, who are taking a big risk with this hire, better hope Sarkisian can bring a little bit of that same message, whatever it is, to a Washington football team that desperately needs to hear something new.

One of Sarkisian's former players, Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel, says there's a bit of Carroll in Washington's new coach, which if true is great news for the Huskies.

"He brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm," Cassel said after his team's win over the Seahawks. "Very similar to coach Carroll, he has a lot of charisma. He will do a great job here. He has a brilliant mind, and he really works hard at what he does."

And it's a good thing Sarkisian works really hard, because as of today, he has a lot of work in front of him.

Scott M. Johnson contributed to this story.

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on UW sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com/huskiesblog
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