5 Reasons Why Chris Petersen Should Be the Next Stanford Head Coach
The college football coaching carousel is spinning at full speed.
Interviews are being conducted. Background checks are being executed. Positions are being filled.
With Jim Harbaugh's decision to accept the head coaching position of the San Francisco 49ers, Stanford has joined the hunt for their next sideline leader.
While Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby is considering staying in-house and promoting one of the current assistant coaches, he is also scanning the landscape to evaluate other candidates.
Boise State has been contacted for the purpose of allowing Stanford to speak with their head coach, Chris Petersen.
Without knowing all of the criteria that Bowlsby is using, here are five reasons why Chris Petersen should be the next Stanford Cardinal head coach.
His Teams Win
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Stanford has once again climbed to the top level of college football.
They need a coach who knows what it's like to win, not just for a season, but on an annual basis.
Chris Petersen's five-year head coaching record is ridiculous: 61-5.
In two of those seasons (2006, 2009), Boise State went undefeated.
The Broncos have played in bowl games every year in the Petersen era, winning three times, including a huge upset victory against Oklahoma in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.
He Recruits Well and Develops Talent
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Trying to recruit top-level talent to Boise, Idaho can't be the easiest part of the Broncos head coach's job.
"Hey, if you come to play for us, we've got some "great potatoes and tasty destinations" (the actual Idaho state slogan).
So, Petersen knows what its like to sell a place.
At Stanford, he would not have to overcome the location—Palo Alto is awesome.
He wouldn't need to establish recruiting ties within the state. More than half of Petersen's Bronco roster was from the state of California.
The challenge he would have to contend with is elite-level academic standards.
I have a strong, gut feeling that Petersen would exel in getting top level talent to the northern California campus.
He Is an Offensive-Minded Head Coach
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Prior to taking over the top coaching position at Boise State in 2006, Petersen served as offensive coordinator for the Broncos from 2001-05.
As OC., he established one of the most potent, high-scoring attacks in the country.
The Broncos finished second (2004), eighth (2005) and 18th (2001) in the nation in scoring, while Petersen was running the Broncos offense.
During Petersen's five seasons as offensive coordinator, Boise State finished in the Top 15 in total offense four times, including three Top 10 finishes—first in 2002, fourth in 2004and seventh in 2003.
Even after Petersen moved into the head coaching position, he was heavily involved in the offensive game planning and play-calling.
This offensive orientation would fit in well at Stanford.
This past year, the Cardinal were ranked No. 9 in scoring offense and No. 14 in total offense.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
He Is a Quarterback-Mentor Extraordinaire
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You don't have to look any further than the string of successful Bronco QBs to see what Petersen does with quarterbacks under his tutelage.
Before Kellen Moore's arrival, Petersen was instrumental in the development of BSU quarterbacks Ryan Dinwiddie and Jared Zabransky, who are among the most successful collegiate signal callers in recent years.
Dinwiddie, who guided the Bronco offense from 2001-03, finished as the NCAA career passing efficiency leader with a rating of 168.19.
With Petersen as his quarterback coach, as well as the team's offensive coordinator, Dinwiddie led the Broncos to a 28-6 record as a starter.
Petersen helped groom Zabransky into one of the nation's most successful quarterbacks from 2004-06. Zabransky led Boise State to three straight league titles, two undefeated regular seasons and a 32-5 record in his three years as a starter.
Kellen Moore's career is just one more bullet point on in an incredible run of QB development.
With Andrew Luck's recent announcement to return for his junior year at Stanford, hiring Petersen would almost certainly help keep Luck going in that direction (no pun intended).
Though it's hard to even conceive, but Luck, under Petersen's guidance, may launch into another galaxy in 2011.
Petersen's success as a coach can be linked to his record-setting career as a quarterback at the University of California, Davis.
As a senior with the Aggies, he was named the NCAA Conference Player of the Year and was the top-rated Division II quarterback in the nation.
Petersen still holds the Division II record for career pass completions at 69.6 percent.
Petersen was inducted into the UC Davis Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.
He's a NorCal Guy...and Stanford Is a NorCal School
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I know. This is the most lame of the reasons why Stanford should hire Petersen.
But, whether or not someone fits into their surroundings does account for something.
Petersen went to Cal-Davis, a mere 100 miles away from the Palo Alto campus.
He'd be virtually back in his old stompin' grounds.
Even if Stanford was in Timbuktu, Bob Bowlsby, the Stanford athletic director, should move as quickly as possible to talk to and hire the most successful college coach in the last five years, Chris Petersen.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
