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Date Posted: 07/30/03 7:31pm
Author: Pelican
Author Host/IP: 66.214.68.74
Subject: Pettas new Husky OC under Gilbertson

John Pettas, former Cal Poly QB (71-72) and QB/Receivers coach under Lyle Setencich, has been promoted to Offensive Coordinator under new Washington Husky coach Keith "Gilby" Gibertson...

Go to the this Seattle paper's website for more stories. (Tribune, note how the website posts the college football schedules in the righthand margin.)

Wednesday, July 30, 2003

A Gilby Q&A

By TED MILLER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The Washington football program made a pair of long-awaited moves in the past two days, finalizing the termination of former coach Rick Neuheisel and promoting offensive coordinator Keith Gilbertson as his replacement.

Gilbertson, 55, is headed to Los Angeles for Pac-10 media day to do his favorite thing in the whole world -- talk to reporters.

But who can wait a day? You've got questions; we've got answers.

Fire, er, hire away.

Was promoting Gilbertson to head coach a good decision or merely one of convenience?

The wimpy answer is time will tell. The political reporter answer is: "Heck, yeah! Gilby's the best!" The only real answer right now is there was no other choice.

Only a foolish coach would take over a team he knows nothing about with just a month before the season opener -- Aug. 30 at Ohio State. Only an idiot would do so without the ability to hire his own staff (all nine of Neuheisel's assistants were retained). Given the circumstances, this was the right decision, because any other course of action would have been a disaster.

Why do you call him Gilby?

Because Gilby was the Norse god of grumpiness.



Whatever. ... So, back to the beginning, will Gilby, er, Gilbertson do a good job?

What will be a 'good job?' This talented team should compete for the Pac-10 title and lose no more than two or three games. Period.

Setting a 9-3 record as the baseline of success is tough, but Huskies fans are like that, God bless 'em. That said, Gilbertson will do exactly that with this team. He is an outstanding Xs and Os guy and a great motivator. He's old-school demanding, but the players really seem to like him. He could become a top-flight recruiter -- he did well at California -- and figures to be particularly strong in the state.

That sounded good, but did you answer the question?

Will he do a good job? Or will he repeat the mistakes of the last highly respected coordinator to take over in a time of crisis, Jim Lambright? Or will he struggle with his players, administrators and reporters like he did during his tenure at Cal?

Yes, he will do a good job. He's too smart, driven and skilled to blow his second shot to run a major program.

Is there a "but" in there somewhere?

He needs to check his paranoia vis-à-vis the media that is amusing for an assistant but frustrating and counterproductive for a head coach. He needs to maintain an even keel and not snap and quibble when he doesn't like an inquiry. A good start would be not closing practices, as is rumored he intends to do. Doing so would create an adversarial atmosphere where competitive reporters would be forced to use creative means to find out what's going on. Of course, he also needs to be himself, and the media and fans just may have to get use to it.

John Pettas was an unpaid assistant for the Huskies two years ago. Now he's the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. Is that a good thing?

Pettas has a great relationship with quarterback Cody Pickett. He has experience as a coordinator, most recently at Louisville and Arizona State. But this will still be Gilbertson's offense -- at least for next season -- even though Pettas apparently will call the plays. But this is a great opportunity for Pettas, and he's well aware of that.

What will be different about this team with Gilbertson running the show instead of Neuheisel?

The pace, focus and intensity of practices picked up during the latter half of last season; expect more of the same. Gilbertson learned from UW icon Don James, a detail-oriented disciplinarian. It will be interesting to see how players accustomed to Neuheisel will adjust to a less fun-loving atmosphere.

Said James, "(Gilbertson) is not a politician; he's a football coach. ... That's what they got: They got a real, good, solid football man."

What about the running game? Will it still be an area of emphasis (read: concern), or will Gilbertson want to throw every down?

Why don't you ask Gilby that. Well stand, er ... over here. He hates that question. But he also knows that the Huskies have to be more balanced this year, despite the best pass-catch combination in the country in Pickett and receiver Reggie Williams.

With a veteran offensive line under respected new assistant Dan Cozzetto, the push up front should be far saltier, regardless of who wins the tailback job. Remember: Gilbertson was the Huskies' offensive coordinator when the team featured a power running game under James and also an option attack during the Rose Bowl run of 2000.

OK. We feel good about Gilbertson. What's next with Neuheisel's battle with the UW and NCAA?

Expect at least one, likely two lawsuits. Neuheisel, who probably will work as an ESPN analyst this fall, wants vindication. He believes he was completely hosed. He wants a substantial settlement from the UW because he feels unjustly fired. He believes the NCAA had a vendetta against him and schemed to trump up a minor violation. If things reach a courtroom, expect the mud to fly on both sides. It could get ugly. And be careful when betting against Neuheisel.

Will the NCAA penalize the program?

The UW doesn't figure to face major sanctions, such as a bowl ban or loss of scholarships. But it probably will get a slap on the wrist for the compliance department's apparently mistaken memo that Neuheisel believes justified his participation in a high-stakes betting pool on the NCAA basketball tournament, as well as the revelation of a low-stakes pool among football staffers, in which Gilbertson participated. The decision to fire Neuheisel was based in large part on the desire to appease the NCAA.

So are happy times here again?

As long as Neuheisel continues to fight, a dark cloud will hang over the athletic department and make it hard to completely move on. But a run of impressive victories and a Rose Bowl berth tend to be great medicine for an embattled program.

P-I reporter Ted Miller can be reached at 206-448-8017 or tedmiller@seattlepi.com

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