On Saturday, Jimmy Lake’s family attended a party to celebrate his appointment as head football coach at the University of Washington.
They just didn’t know it at the time.
Lake’s mother and two brothers had flown into Seattle for Thanksgiving weekend. His wife, Michelle, and children — Jimmy Jr., Faith and Bronson — were all there, too. On Saturday afternoon, they were sitting on the couch, watching the Iron Bowl game between Auburn and Alabama — ironically enough, considering the Crimson Tide’s reported interest in Lake in recent years — when the phone rang.
It was UW athletics director Jen Cohen.