College Football – Steve Sarkisian – a Real Breath of Fresh Air for Washington’s Huskies
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley
He is apparently half-Armenian and half-Irish, 34 years old and the new head coach of the University of Washington’s football team. Meet Steve Sarkisian, young, energetic, successful and excited about the opportunity to turn around the fortunes of the Husky football program.
That will not be as difficult a problem as Washington’s current 0-12 season record might suggest. We are purposefully not mentioning the fired coach whom Sarkisian is replacing. Sarkisian and the University of Washington deserve a clean slate at this moment in time. The old guy is history better left unwritten.
Before he arrived in Seattle to be announced as the new coach, Sarkisian had never been head coach of a major college football program. Some pundits consider his hiring a liability because of his inexperience as a head coach. I consider his inexperience an asset because Sarkisian is not bringing with him a bunch of failed practices, tired beliefs about what worked 20 years ago, and old cronies as part of the coaching staff.
Just winning a single game next season will make him more successful than his predecessor.
Sarkisian has been the quarterback coach, offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the University of Southern California the last 2 years. USC is a national powerhouse led by head coach Pete Carroll. So what’s the big deal with USC and Pete Carroll? Just this:
In the 7 years prior to this season, Carroll is 76-14 (84%) at USC, the best winning percentage of any current Division 1 coach with at least 5 years of experience. Carroll won National Championships in 2003 and 2004, won an unprecedented 6 consecutive Pac 10 titles and appeared in an NCAA record 6 consecutive BCS bowl games, won an NCAA record of at least 11 victories each season, and has been ranked in the AP Top 4 in each of those seasons.
This year the Trojans won their 7th consecutive Pac 10 title, and are again 11-1 going into their 7th consecutive BCS Rose Bowl appearance, this time against Penn State.
So what has Sarkisian had to do with Carroll’s success? He was there 7 of the last 8 years, first as the quarterback coach and then as the quarterback coach, offensive coordinator and assistant head coach the last 2 years. Sarkisian led the USC offensive effort while helping develop Heisman Trophy winners Matt Leinart (drafted by the Arizona Cardinals) and Carson Palmer (drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals). He also helped develop John David Brody (drafted by the Minnesota Vikings).
It’s also one thing to coach quarterbacks when you haven’t been one or been a very successful one, and another thing to do so as a great college quarterback, which Sarkisian was at Brigham Young University.
After two years at a community college, Sarkisian started for BYU as a junior, passing for 3,437 yards and 20 touchdowns. He finished his first season by going 31-for-34 for 399 yards and 3 touchdowns in BYU’s 45-28 victory over Fresno State, setting an NCAA record for completion percentage (91%), and 2 of his 3 incompletions were intentionally thrown out of bounds to avoid the pass rush.
As a senior, Sarkisian passed for 4,027 yards and 33 TDs with a 173+ pass efficiency rating, the best in the NCAA. BYU finished the regular season at 13-1, won the Western Athletic Conference Championship and then beat Kansas State 19-15 in the Cotton Bowl. He was selected as WAC Offensive Player of the Year and a second-team NCAA All-American.
While Washington will be Steve Sarkisian’s first head coaching job, he is clearly a winner as a player and a winner as a coach at USC.
Thus far, Sarkisian has made 2 quality decisions—he accepted the challenge at Washington and he didn’t keep any of the holdover coaches from the 0-12 team he inherited. Nice work, Steve. Who wants or needs winless coaches?
Sarkisian’s first order of business (besides hiring a staff and recruiting like there is no tomorrow) will be to change the culture of Washington’s program by restoring a winning attitude with belief.
Only time will tell how much success Sarkisian will enjoy with the Washington Husky football program, but one thing is for sure: Athletic Director Scott Woodward’s decision to hire him is a giant step in the right direction.
Read my other detailed, interesting articles on college football, including:
“Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi, Knute Rockne and Lou Holtz During Football’s Annual Bowl Season”
“How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss”
“The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them”
Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html
Sports Information Directors at BYU. Reported by True Blue’s Lakia Holmes.
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The Official 2009 BYU Football Commercial. Be sure to watch it in HD!
Video Rating: 4 / 5
www.chinoblanco.com | http Big blow to Brigham Young University-Hawaii athletics. Starting this week, the NCAA is placing the Division II Seasiders on three years probation for failing to monitor its program. The infractions were mainly based on the ineligibility of eight transfer students, who played in six BYU-H sports including one who suited up for the men’s basketball team. In addition to probation, which runs until Aug. 25, 2012, BYU-Hawaii received a public reprimand and censure, and is subject to a mandatory compliance review and annual compliance reports.
Video Rating: 5 / 5
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legit
LOVE MY COUGARS!!!
well ladies…. we spanked oregon state…. Rodger brothers who???? hahahaha…. BYU WOOO HOOO…. but also mwc is the real deal pay your respects……
hell ya
They made it to a bowl game though.
This is bad azz
Can’t wait to see jake heaps and drew phillips on the field!
hahahahahahaha
great commercial
BYU ALL THE WAY!!
even though they lost the last game..i know they can win this one tonight!!
TONGA AND HARVEY ALL THE WAY!!!:)
I LOVE <3 BYU!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
what song is this?
Good job last night. FSU put up 50+ on you guys.
Good thing skiing season is almost here…
I think losing 48-24 to Utah and to a 5th place PAC-10 team in your bowl game would make that list too. I think you have a few more surprises waiting for you this year. The secondary was once again exposed
Can’t argue there. We were slaughtered. Three times this has happened to us in three years, where one team just caught us like a deer in the headlights. Tulsa in 2007, TCU last year, and now FSU. Hopefully we can rebound and still go 12-1.
We’ll see where the “#3″ team in the preseason polls ends up at the end of the season. Of course when you lose 54-28 to an unranked Florida State team at home that’s kind of depressing isn’t it.
Hadn’t lost in Provo until tonight. Actually I think getting beat 54-28 would qualify as having your asses handed to you
Is this a Gay Pride promotion?
quest is not perfected until you have a national championship…and guess who has one of those? give you a hint, its not the team that was almost beat by san jose state last week
Oh, man, I love football! SO excited for the season! Go Cougars!!!
ya who’s slogen is now “the quest has been perfected” hmm you… sounds so familiar maybe utah should learn how to use collage skills and come up with something on thier own.
well i think that byu is a much better team this year, and so far it is looking like we are heading down the path of victory, i mean number 20 beats number 3, and than beats someone 54 to 3 come on people… byu is the best and i dont care about what you utah fans say byu are the big boys and always have been we always play harder teams while you guys play little po dunk schools like utah state and weber really come on. which is better win from a little school (utah state) or a big upset!!!!
If i do remeber correctly Utah used the “quest of perfection” slogan as well. Sure they did it but I guess it’s a retarded slogan. so probably shouldn’t insult a team if the team you cheer for is using the same slogan. It’s like your insulting the team you cheer for…..kind of retarded
If I recall correctly, BYU knocked off the number three team in the nation last night. BYU might never do what UTAH has done but they’re sure as hell heading the right way
No, no, I agree with you completely. BYU has a really tough schedule, while Utah’s may not be as tough. BYU has 4 key games to start the season. Utah has 3 to start the season and depending on how Louisville does that may be a tough team as well. BYU has OU, FSU, TCU, UTAH. While Utah has UO, TCU, BYU. If BYU can have a better D and as good of a line as last year, I’d reconsider. But I just don’t see it happening for ‘em.
Good luck to you’re Cougs this season.
Sooners and Cougars get your Oklahoma-BYU preview! Visit my YouTube page and pass it on to college football fans everywhere!
YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME RIGHT?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?
calling me feeble-minded is fairly typical of the average bigot. Gay people have all the responsibilities of citizenship, and as tax-payers, workers, judges and janitors, gays also just by dint of fairness deserve all the rights that go along with responsibilities.
Why do they “deserve” it? What have they given to society in order to deserve it? Use as many insinuations and insults as your feeble mind can conjure up and I only hope that one day you recognize your arrogance. Hatred has existed for all time, does it deserve equality? War has existed for all time, does it deserve equality. Please come up with a better reason than the fact you exist.
colective, the word homophobia is not the word homophobe. Of course if the noun fits, it’s not my fault. Gay people have always existed for all time, and they deserve marriage equality.
You asking me to vote for gay marriage is the same as if I were to ask you to “stop” believing in gay marriage. Neither party is willing to revert to the opposition. Before you ask to be respected, respect others.
Furthermore I only ask that you attempt to intellectually prove to me that allowing gay marriage will be a benefit to our nation. That the very act of rescinding “our beliefs” will lead to a greater unity. I respect what you believe in, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with it. You don’t have to agree with my beliefs but I will always choose my own beliefs as you will always choose your own beliefs.
There you go again. This entire conversation you have only sought to degrade us with your name calling. “Hypocrite, homophobe, theocrat…” and surely you have more. I simply gave you an option. If marriage is such a concern to you why don’t you go after it in a country that allows it? You have no reason to any of your arguments, if you can even call them arguments. To say that homosexuality provides “equality” is to say that relations between a man and a woman are unequal.
“My children would have an unequal future”
Really? What does that mean? Your words define homophobia.
and here is one more for you, why don’t all the homosexuals get their own island and build a nation and we’ll see how long your procreation lasts for. My children would have an “unequal” future if gay marriage were permitted so lets not get into the discussion about “equality.” And you wouldn’t know a single thing about people in Iran apart from what you see in your biased news network.
I’ve a better idea. Why don’t u move to Iran, where the theocratic-political views are to your liking. And u don’t have to agree with homoness, but you must allow for equality under the law.
We don’t hate gays. We just don’t believe in homosexuality and last time I checked the constitution allows people to vote for what they believe in. New Zealand allows gay marriage. Perhaps you could live there. It’s a great place
Yeah, don’t hate. Make way for gay marriage.
Don’t hate
same ol mormon hypocrisy.