SEATTLE — Steve Sarkisian’s most recent visit to Husky Stadium was certainly more hospitable than his first, but his 1996 trip to Seattle as a player made Washington’s new head coach aware of what Husky football can be.
In a press conference open to the public, the 34-year-old Sarkisian was announced as Washington’s next football coach Monday in front of hundreds of fans at Husky Stadium’s Don James Center.
Sarkisian, his wife Stephanie, and their three children Ashley, 6, Brady, 3, and Taylor, eight months, entered to the UW band playing “Bow Down to Washington” and Washington’s 23rd head coach was greeted by applause and four shirtless students with S-A-R-K painted on their chests.
Sarkisian, who has spent six of the past seven years as an assistant to Pete Carroll at USC, quickly won over the crowd when he mentioned Washington’s past success winning conference titles, national titles and Rose Bowl appearances.
“It’s the year 2008, it’s about time we get back to that level of expectations, it’s about time for us to get back to the Rose Bowl, it’s about time for us to get back competing for conference championships, it’s about time for us to get back competing for national championships, and that’s what our goal is, no question,” he said.
Sarkisian first visited Husky Stadium as the quarterback for Brigham Young University in 1996. That 29-17 loss would end up being the Cougars only one that season, and Sarkisian was sacked eight times and his team committed eight false start penalties.
“I got off the plane, went straight to the hospital for an MRI on my left knee,” he said with a laugh. “The environment, the hostile environment, the electricity in the air when you came into this building was something that could not be matched, could not be replaced. Obviously that’s not the way it is right now, but as I know Husky football, as I know Husky Stadium and what it can be, I know that it’s something that’s attainable for us and it can happen quickly, it’s going to happen fast. It’s going to take the support of everyone involved, but I know what this place can be, I know what this building can be, I know what kind of environment and atmosphere it can place on an opposing football team, and we’ve got to get that back to where we need it to be, no question.”
Sarkisian said the first step to getting the Huskies back is change the mentality of the Huskies, who are coming off an 0-12 season. When Sarkisian coached against the Huskies in USC’s 56-0 win earlier this season, he saw on the other side of the field a team that had grown accustomed to losing.
“No question, no question,” he said. “I said before this is a better football team than 0-12 and I think you all would agree with that. This is a better team than 0-12. Are they a 12-0 team yet? I don’t know but I do know they are better than 0-12. We just need to change the mindset and the culture here right off.”
Hiring a 34-year-old offensive coordinator is a gamble for UW president Mark Emmert and athletic director Scott Woodward, but both were adamant that Sarkisian is the right man for the job.
“We were looking for someone who could reenergize Husky football, bring us back to where we all know we belong and work with the kids we have now and bring even more student athletes into the university, and we think we got our guy,” Emmert said.
Woodward admitted that they talked to a half-dozen or so other coaches about the job, but would not name names, and when asked if any other offers were made he said, “We went down the aisle, but never got to the altar with anyone except Steve.”
And despite the fact that the Huskies talked to many current head coaches whose resumes might be more impressive than Sarkisian’s, Woodward said it would be “nuts” to say they settled on Sarkisian, and said he was the school’s first choice.
“Two words just stuck out: winner and passion,” Woodward said. “Those were the ones that were just overarching in my mind. I just kept coming back to it. He’s been a winner everywhere he’s been, every step of his life, and he’s done it with hard work and by being tough. And I think that’s what Husky football is all about, and it just kept coming back to that.”
Sarkisian served as USC’s assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the past two years and as the quarterbacks coach in 2005 and 2006. He spent 2004 as the Oakland Raiders’ quarterbacks coach, and the three years prior to that at USC. He said he takes pride in his history of winning as a player and a coach, and plans to pass that winning attitude on to a team that became too comfortable with losing this season.
“I pride myself on being a competitive individual,” he said. “If you want to play darts, I want to beat you. If my wife wants to play horse, I want to beat her. If my mom wants to play me in pool, I want to beat her. I don’t care who you are or where you are from, I want to win. Hopefully that’s contagious and that’s been something throughout my career as a player and coach that has come across, that I’m going to do everything in my power to win football games. And that comes through preparation and hard work and at the end of the day it comes through belief, especially in tight moments.”
Sarkisian, who will make $10 million in guaranteed pay over five years, said he plans to dive into recruiting right away, but he will still coach USC in the Rose Bowl. He plans to be back and forth a lot over the next couple of weeks, then spend the week after Christmas getting the Trojans ready for Penn State.
Once at Washington, Sarkisian plans on calling his own plays and running and offense similar to what he oversaw at USC, though said he will tweak things to fit Washington’s personnel, most notably Jake Locker, a quarterback more mobile than any of USC’s recent quarterbacks. He will have an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, but also plans to work closely with Locker and the rest of the quarterbacks.
Sarkisian said he will evaluate all of the current UW assistant coaches, but does not know if any will be retained. He also said he plans on bringing a new strength and conditioning coach. And once he has a staff assembled, Sarkisian will try, in his first job as a head coach, to take the Huskies from 0-12 to national prominence.
“I’ve always strived to be a head football coach in Division I football and this job to me is a hidden gem because I know what it was and what this place is capable of being,” he said. “I know the support that it has here from the fan base, the alumni, the university. I’ve been very intrigued by it, and where they are at now is not where this place is. I’ve witnessed this as a player and coach and seen it first hand. And in my opinion it shouldn’t take us very long.”
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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