Chris Petersen said he doesn’t want to still be a head coach at 58.
With a then-career record of 84-3 at 48, Petersen wasn’t focused on a national championship at Boise State either. Now entering his fifth season as Washington’s head coach, Petersen hasn’t changed his mindset.
“You want to feel like it's right and the whole process is correct,” Petersen said in a 2013 interview with CBS. “It flows right and we're all working for this continuous improvement.”
Petersen has been focused on continuous improvement since his first coaching job at UC Davis, where the team’s former starting quarterback took notes from head coach Jim Sochor.
Winning was to be based on the chemistry and characters developed within the team, not by the overall talent that rotated through the program.
“We wanted to be brilliant at the process and let go of the results, that’s how it all started,” Sochor said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “Our program was all about respect and dignity, praise and positive reinforcement.”
The teachings of Sochor followed Petersen through the coaching ranks at Boise State, first as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator and later as the team’s all-time winningest head coach.
Despite two undefeated seasons on Boise’s blue turf and a 92-12 overall record, Petersen accepted a five-year deal in December 2013 to become Washington’s head coach. Since then, Petersen has led the Huskies to an appearance in the College Football Playoff and a conference championship.
After signing a seven-year contract extension in 2017, the now 53-year-old Petersen is at the helm of another projected playoff appearance and continued coaching after age 58.
Surrounded by the continual growth of the program, Petersen maintained his willingness to grow his players as people with a “built for life” philosophy.
“You’re a college student, you have academics, you have all kind of stuff going on,” Petersen said. “I think it’s way harder on these players than it is pro football players.”
During a 2017 season where Washington finished 10-3, the Huskies finished 11th in points per play with a .526 average. Petersen’s Huskies finished shy of the PAC-12 Championship following a loss to Stanford and completed the season with a loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Now with a fourth-year star quarterback and running back tandem, Petersen’s philosophy predicts more growth in 2018.
And, even with all of the hype surrounding Petersen and his program, the head coach still acts freshly hired out of college while being focused on improving the individual off the football field.
“We’re trying to figure out what the rest of our lives are going to look like while we’re here getting this unbelievable degree,” Petersen said. “That’s one of the hardest things in life is to create a vision for your life and figure out what do I like outside of this. You may not figure it out in your time here, but you’re going to be closer along.”
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