Primer for DeBoer: How UW Football Coaches Fared in Their First Seasons

Since Husky Stadium was built on waterfront property and turned University of Washington football into a big deal, 15 coaches have been entrusted with leading the program and putting their imprint on it.

Husky history will show — and Kalen DeBoer should take careful note of this — that no coach has had an easy time in getting started.

Just seven of those men, or less than half, enjoyed winning seasons coming out of the gate in Montlake.

Here's something else to ponder: The first-year Husky coach with the top first-year winning percentage is ... Jimmy Lake. Yes, the same leader fired eight months ago with his second season only three-fourths complete.

Lake, by leading the UW to victory in three of four games in his debut and pandemic-restricted season in 2020, holds up a .750 percentage. At the same time, it's not real clear how successful he would have been had his Huskies played 10 or more games that season.

Second to Lake is another former Husky assistant promoted to the top job, Jim Lambright, who won seven of 11 games (.636) in 1993 after taking over for legendary Don James.

And James?

He was 6-5 in the first of his 18 mostly glorious seasons guiding the Huskies to a lot of bowl games and a national championship.

We take a look at each of the 15 coaches who have been in charge at the UW with intersectional and West Coast conference games in play rather than the Gil Dobie era and before, where the Huskies were called something else and played only Northwest colleges, athletic clubs and high school teams.  

FIFTEEN FIRST SEASONS

Enoch Bagshaw, 1921, 3-4-1 — This coach won his first three games then didn't win again, failing to be a conference opponent and losing to Penn State.

Jimmy Phelan, 1930, 5-4 — This big-name coach won five of first six UW games, shutting out five teams. He lost his last three, getting shut out twice and scoring a lone touchdown.

Ralph "Pest" Welch, 1942, 4-3-3 — Weird season. With World War II unfolding, Welch's Huskies were tied times by USC, Navy Pre-flight and Washington State, with each game finishing scoreless.

Howie Odell, 1948, 2-7-1 — The year before the great Hugh McElhenny arrived, Odell took over, got shut out five times and beat only UCLA and Idaho.

John Cherberg, 1953, 3-6-1 — The former Husky running back and assistant coach, and future Lt. Governor, won just one of his first four games and lost his last three.

Darrell Royal, 1956, 5-5 — Brought in to clean up Cherberg's mess, Royal was In town for just one season before leaving for Texas. A four-game losing streak at midseason hurt him.

Jim Owens, 1957, 3-6-1 — Owens failed to win his first five games, tying the opener against Colorado 6-6 before losing the next four games. 

Don James, 1975, 6-5 — It was good news, bad news, for the winningest modern-day Husky coach. He swept the L.A. schools. In his fifth game, he lost 52-0 at Alabama.

Jim Lambright, 1993, 7-4 — The man called Lambo won four of his first five games during a season with a bowl ban, but, unlike, James he got swept by the L.A. schools. 

Rick Neuheisel, 1999, 7-5 — Taking over for the fired Lambright, he lost his first two games before winning six of his next seven. 

Keith Gilbertson, 2003, 6-6 — Replacing the fired Neuheisel, he won three of his first four games before reality set it.

Tyrone Willingham, 2005, 2-9 — Taking over for the fired Gilbertson, he beat only Idaho among his first nine games.

Steve Sarkisian, 2009, 5-7 — Stepping in for the dismissed Willingham, he hit a rough stretch in the middle of the season, losing six of seven games, including at Notre Dame in overtime.

Chris Petersen, 2014, 8-6 — To be honest, people expected more out of a guy known for winning;. Petersen captured his first four games before losing five of the next seven. 

Jimmy Lake, 2020, 3-1 — The former Petersen assistant coach dealt with the pandemic and no fans. He made things interesting by overcoming a 21-0 halftime deficit to beat Utah 24-21.

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