Washington Huskies Head Football coach Jimmy Lake.
The Chris Peterson era of Washington football is over. His former defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake is now the man in charge. Since Don James, the Dawgfather, who was head coach from 1975 thru 1992, the Washington Huskies have only had two assistant coaches promoted to head coach in Jim Lambright and Keith Gilbertson.
We went back over the last 100 years of Huskies football. Jimmy Lake will be the seventh head coach since Don James hung up his clipboard and the third head coach promoted from within the program. In fact, of the seven head coaches, Jimmy Lake is the second defensive coordinator to take the job, the other was Jim Lambright. Going back over the last 100 years, four other men made their head coaching debut at the University of Washington.
Former Huskies’ all-conference defensive end, Jim Lambright, became an assistant coach at the University of Washington in 1969, during the Jim Owens era. He stayed an assistant for 24 years, working his way up to defensive coordinator in 1978. Lambright was named head coach when Don James resigned after the NCAA imposed sanctions on Washington. Penalties included bowl game ineligibility for two seasons.
Lambright was Washington’s head coach for six seasons from 1993–1998. The Huskies had a 7–4 record for each of his first three seasons. In 1995, the bowl ban ended. The Huskies lost in their return to postseason action, 38-18 to Iowa in the Sun Bowl. After a 6-6 record in 1998, Lambright was dismissed. Athletic director Barbara Hedges fired him because UW lost three of the four bowl games he coached in, and the Huskies never went to the Rose Bowl.
Jim Owens was the predecessor to Don James. Like James, Owens was the Huskies coach for 18 years. However, he didn’t have the same success. His coaching philosophy was influenced by two of the all-time greatest coaches in college football. He played for Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma then served as an assistant for six years under Bear Bryant at Kentucky and Texas A&M.
In 1957, UW hired Owens to replace Darrell Royal. Rumor has it that after the 1956 season, Bryant, knowing Washington was looking for a new head coach, told reporters the Owens “will make a great coach for somebody someday.”
Owens’ first season leading the Huskies was 1957; he had a record of 3–6–1. The following season Owens did worse, finishing 3–7. 1959 and 1960 were Owens’ two best seasons at Washington. Both seasons UW had a record of 10–1, capped off with Rose Bowl wins. The second time Washington beat Minnesota 17-7, earning the Huskies a National Championship.
During his 18 years at Washington, Owens made it back to another Rose Bowl in January 1964, losing to Illinois 17–7. Owens’ final two seasons at Washington, the team didn’t do so well going 2–9 in 1973, and 5–6 in 1974. He will go down in school history as the coach that brought the Huskies into prominence.
A future Lieutenant Governor and a former Huskies’ halfback, John Cherberg, became an assistant at Washington in 1946. After seven years, he was promoted to head coach in 1953. Cherberg lasted only three seasons at Washington. His final season was the only one with a winning record at 5–4–1. Cherberg lost his job because of a payoff scandal which led to NCAA sanctions.
Ralph Welch came to Washington as an assistant to James Phelan in 1930. He replaced Phelan as head coach after the 1941 season and lasted for six seasons. His debut season of 1942, the Huskies finished with a record of 4-3-3, placing sixth in the Pacific Coast Conference. The following season the Huskies were 4-1 losing to USC in the Rose Bowl 29-0. Due to World War 2, it was the only year two teams from the same conference played in the Rose Bowl. Welch’s last season, 1947, was the only time he had a losing record at Washington 3-6. Overall, Welch produced a 27-20-3 record at UW.
Another former Washington Huskies football player, Enoch Bradshaw, was Washington’s head coach for nine seasons during the roaring ’20s. During his inaugural season at Washington, 1921, he had a record of 3-4-1.
Bradshaw’s coaching career record at Washington was largely successful 63-22-6. His third year at Washington, the Huskies made their first-ever bowl appearance in the Rose Bowl tying Navy 14-14 on January 1, 1924. The Huskies returned to the Rose Bowl again under Bradshaw’s leadership on January 1, 1926, losing to Alabama, 20-19. It was the only loss for Washington that season. 1929 was his final season in football; he died the following year. Due to his success, in 1980 Bradshaw became a member of the Husky Hall of Fame in 1980.
Keith Gilbertson became Washington Huskies head coach in 2003 after Hedges fired Lambright’s successor Rick Neuheisel. Gilbertson received his promotion to head coach after being the team’s assistant head coach for three seasons under Neuheisel.
Unlike the others, Keith Gilbertson did have head coaching experience, just not at Washington. He was the head man at Idaho between 1986–88 and also led the University of California from 1992–95. After his stint at Idaho, Gilbertson was the offensive line coach at Washington for two seasons before becoming the Huskies offensive coordinator on Washington’s 1991 undefeated national championship team. His success at UW led to the California Bears head coaching job.
Gilbertson’s success as Washington’s head coach wasn’t the same as he had as an assistant or for the four years he spent at Cal. His first season, 2003, was okay with a record of 6–6. It was followed by a terrible 1–10 record in 2004, where the Huskies went winless in the conference. He got the ax before the last game of the season. He finished his coaching career with the Seattle Seahawks under Mike Holmgren for four years.
It remains to be seen whether Jimmy Lake can do as well as Jim Lambright or even Keith Gilbertson in his first season after being promoted. The Huskies play one more game now than Lambright, so winning seven games might be more manageable than in the past. It wouldn’t count a bowl game that Washington would play in. Lake would prefer to win eight games at the very least like Chris Petersen did last year in his final season. Washington Huskies fans hope Jimmy Lake will be successful enough to stay for several years. Lambright was around for six years, so that should be the first target.
Due to COVID-19, there was no spring or summer practice. It will be hard to measure the success of Jimmy Lake’s first season. In fact, there might not even be a season. The Pac-12 has tempered their optimism about playing this fall.
How do you think Jimmy Lake will do in his first season as the Washington Huskies head coach? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.