Washington fires Jimmy Lake as head coach

Jimmy Lake's tenure with the Washington Huskies is reportedly over after less than two seasons, according to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports.

Lake, 44, took over as Washington's head coach in 2020 as the successor to Chris Petersen, who stepped down from the position. After a 3-1 record in a COVID-19-shortened first season with Lake at the helm, Washington currently sits at 4-6 after a 35-30 loss to Arizona State.

His tenure truly ended a week prior to that loss, though. Earlier in November, video showed him striking a Washington player in the facemask on the sideline during a 26-16 loss to Oregon. While Lake told reporters he didn't strike the player and was merely separating him from an Oregon player, Washington suspended the coach for the game against Arizona State.

On Saturday, the Seattle Times reported five eyewitnesses saw Lake shove a player into a locker during halftime of a game in 2019.

According to Thamel, Washington decided against firing Lake for cause. Instead of attempting to recoup his costly buyout, the university will pay out the sum and move on from the coach.

Washington participated in the 2017 College Football Playoff after winning the Pac-12 but lost to Alabama in the Peach Bowl. The Huskies played in the Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl in the next two seasons and won the Las Vegas Bowl in Petersen's last season at the helm.

Defensive coordinator Bob Gregory took over as interim head coach during Lake's suspension and will presumably continue in that role following the dismissal.