Chris Petersen could be doing all this at USC.
Pat Haden, the Trojans’ athletic director in 2013, interviewed Petersen, who was at Boise State. Petersen was 92-12 there and took the Broncos to two Fiesta Bowls. He had stoutly resisted job recruiters from Stanford and UCLA.
He didn’t take this job either. There were conflicting reports, but obviously nothing clicked between Haden and Peterson.
Then Haden changed Pac-12 history. He hired Steve Sarkisian from Washington. Sarkisian is more effervescent than Petersen. He was also a Trojan family member, having coached for Pete Carroll.
Washington needed a coach.