BLOG: By Rick Worthington
12/9/19
I moved to Boise with my family in the summer of 2011. To refresh your memory, it was Kellen Moore’s senior year and the Broncos were about to go 12-1 on the season.
Coach Chris Petersen had the Broncos rolling when I moved in, and I’ve never seen a city so energized or connected to it’s football team. It was really a pretty cool thing to move into, and I’ve never regretted moving to the Treasure Valley.
I have one Coach Pete story to tell, so I’ll tell it now.
During my first season covering Bronco Football, I raised my hand to ask a question at one of the weekly pressers. I don’t recall the question exactly, but I remember it was something to do with a questionable call the Broncos had made in the first game of the year against Georgia. (BSU won the game 35-21 in Atlanta)
Coach Pete didn’t want to answer my question, so he moved on to the next without so much as even missing a beat. He just dismissed my question entirely, as if it had never even been asked. I was new, and I did not care to press my luck, so I just let it go. I asked a colleague later about it, and was told, Pete rarely answers negative questions – and I probably was more likely to get an answer if I had phrased it differently.
I took the advice, and Coach Pete always answered my questions from that point on. He was nice to me, and professional, so I’m not upset or anything. It’s just the one and only Coach Pete story I have in my bag…
Moving on – I did form an opinion of him that day, and I think it’s true. Coach Pete was made to be in Boise to coach football, where he could go out and get his OKG’s (Our Kind of Guys) and get the very best out of them. Boise is a place where you can have a great football team, but stay far enough away from the bright lights and pressure normally associated with College Football. Boise is a place where, as the saying goes, you can still breathe.
The University of Washington is none of those things.
I personally hope Coach Chris Petersen is not done with football, because there are just to many boys out there who could really benefit from Coach Pete’s leadership. Coaching is never just about winning – if you are doing it right.
Below is Coach Pete’s Presser about playing against Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
