SEATTLE – As far back as 15 months ago, upon his hiring as head football coach at the University of Washington, Keith Gilbertson knew he probably wouldn’t have the job terribly long.
Nevertheless, Monday was a low day in a disappointing season for the 56-year-old Snohomish native, when he and athletic director Todd Turner announced that the annual Apple Cup game against Washington State on Nov. 20 will be Gilbertson’s last as the Huskies’ head coach.
“This is not a happy day for me and my family, obviously,” Gilbertson said. “We love the University of Washington.”
Having watched a team lose seven of its first eight games of the season, the last a sluggish 31-6 defeat at Oregon, Turner and Gilbertson came to a mutual decision Sunday night that Gilbertson would step down at the end of the season.
The move ended 15 months of one of the most uncertain times in the history of Washington football. From the day Gilbertson was hired, July 29, 2003, to replace the fired Rick Neuheisel, an unsettling cloud hung over the program. Not only did many in the program worry about possible NCAA sanctions in response to Neuheisel’s gambling scandal, there also was growing trepidation about the price tag of Neuheisel’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the university. The NCAA cleared Neuheisel of wrongdoing two weeks ago.
Asked to right the ship was Gilbertson, who saw immediately that the program would take hits in many areas, primarily recruiting, and would take years to bring back.
“It became apparent to me, probably as early as the first day I took this job, that if we didn’t get a long-term commitment, that I was basically going to be an interim coach here,” Gilbertson said. “Particularly in light of how the season developed, I said that we were going to need some time and some commitment to make the changes that I think are necessary.”
About two weeks ago, as the losses mounted, Gilbertson met with Turner to address the issue.
“I said, ‘Listen, either I need a commitment or we need to make a change; I’m fine either way,’” Gilbertson said. “I’m not angry at the University of Washington. I love this place. It’s been a part of my family for three or four generations.”
Turner said a national search for a replacement would begin immediately. Although he said he would not contact a prospective coach until after this season ends, Turner said he hoped to name a new coach as soon as possible, well in advance of signing day for recruits in early February.
“But we will not rush,” Turner said. “Our goal is to get the right person.”
Turner said he decided to make the move before the season ended to help stop much of the uncertainty swirling around the program. Gilbertson said many recruits ruled out Washington because they didn’t know whether the current coaching staff would be in place next year.
The Huskies have four players who have verbally committed. They cannot officially sign an NCAA national letter of intent until early February. In addition, Turner said he wanted to end the awkwardness of current UW players having to answer questions regarding the growing speculation of a coaching change.
“Getting that behind us would really make for a much more pleasant end to the season and a chance for him to really coach his team,” Turner said. “This will remove that distraction so that his team could enjoy the last three games of the year and so that he and his coaching staff could concentrate on the job at hand.”
Gilbertson’s love for the football program was obvious during the 45-minute press conference. Whether he would be part of it or not, Gilbertson said several times that he wanted Washington football to return to its glory days as one of the top programs in the country.
“Whoever they bring in, I’ll support them all I can,” Gilbertson said. “The best thing for me was the great people I got to work for here as an assistant coach, the great people that I coached with and these unbelievable young guys I coached.”
The move leaves Gilbertson’s nine assistant coaches in limbo. Turner said they would be free to stay if the new head coach wants them to.
The Huskies have three games remaining, playing host to Arizona and Cal the next two Saturdays before concluding the season at Washington State on Nov. 20.
Gilbertson was a part of the UW coaching staff on three separate occasions. Under Don James, he was a graduate assistant in 1976 and offensive coordinator for James from 1989 to 1991. He returned in 1999 as offensive line coach under Neuheisel and later became his offensive coordinator.
Gilbertson was named head coach after Neuheisel was fired before the 2003 season. That season, Washington finished 6-6.
Gilbertson was 28-9 in three seasons as head coach at Idaho, including two Big Sky Conference titles. He went on to coach four seasons at Cal, where he was fired after compiling a 20-26 record. Gilbertson is 7-13 at Washington
Gilbertson was an assistant with the Seattle Seahawks from 1996 to 1998 before returning to Washington for a third time.
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