Washington Huskies: It’s Jimmy Lake’s team now, history of first time head coaches at UW
Lake vs. recent UW promoted assistant coach
Keith Gilbertson (2003-2004)
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.
The Wrap-up
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.