Chris Petersen, Washington Agree To Extension Through 2023


Washington is rewarding head coach Chris Petersen with a contract extension. The Huskies head coach is coming off of an appearance in the College Football Playoff.


After helping deliver his school its first conference football title since 2000, Chris Petersen is getting rewarded.

Washington announced that it has extended the contract of its head coach through the 2023 season. Huskies athletic director Jen Cohen announced the news on Tuesday through a news release.

“His teams have performed extremely well on the field and have accomplished remarkable things in the classroom and the community,” Cohen said of Petersen in a press release. “We are very fortunate to have Chris guiding our program and we want to ensure that he and his staff have everything they need to sustain a championship culture here at Washington.”

While terms of the deal were not released by the school, Sports Illustrated is reporting that the former Boise State head coach will also get a raise in annual salary from $4 million to $4.875 million, which would possibly make him the richest head coach in the Pac-12. Stanford’s David Shaw is earning more than $4 million per year, according to the school’s federal tax returns. But since Stanford is a private institution, it is not required to announce the salaries of its coaches.

“The University of Washington is such a special place, and it is a great fit for me and my family,” Petersen said in the release. “I am honored to work alongside such a talented staff, and this extension demonstrates the University’s commitment to investing in a championship program.”

The new deal extends Petersen’s stay in Seattle by an additional three seasons.

Petersen has compiled a 27-14 mark in three years with the Huskies, including a Pac-12 championship and berth into the College Football Playoff in 2016. U-Dub finished last season 12-2, falling to Alabama in the Peach Bowl after beating Colorado for the Pac-12 crown. The Huskies led the conference in total offense and total defense, fielding one of the most complete teams in the country. While they lose a lot of talent from the 2016 squad, possible Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback Jake Browning will be back after throwing for 3,430 yards and 43 touchdowns, which makes the Huskies an automatic Pac-12 North division favorite. Receiver Dante Pettis (15 touchdowns in 2016) and running back Myles Gaskin (11 rushing scores in ’16) will also return.

Washington will open the 2017 regular season at Rutgers on Friday, Sept. 1.

Before arriving in Seattle and making U-Dub a national title contender again, Petersen went 92-12 in eight seasons at Boise State.

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