Jimmy Lake was fired Sunday after just 13 games as the Washington Huskies’ head coach. Defensive coordinator Bob Gregory will likely continue to serve as the program’s interim head coach for the remainder of the season, and a national search for the program’s next head coach will begin immediately.
But less than two years ago, Chris Petersen stood at a podium inside the Don James Center on the north side of Husky Stadium on Dec. 3, 2019, decked out in a purple shirt and tie. The day before, UW announced that Petersen would step down after six seasons as the Huskies’ head coach, and Lake — his defensive coordinator — would serve as his chosen successor. Lake and athletics director Jen Cohen both sat to his left, facing rows of cameras and media members and donors and alums.
On the video board beyond the field at Petersen’s back, three words were printed in bold white type — between smiling photos of Petersen on the left, and Lake on the right:
A NEW REIGN
“This is interesting. It’s like a combination between a funeral and a wedding … but it’s more of a wedding,” Petersen said with a smile.
Less than two years later, the marriage has ended in divorce.
“Making a head coaching change in any sport is difficult, recognizing that the decision impacts coaches, staff, student-athletes and their families,” UW athletic director Jen Cohen said in a statement. “However, as the steward of UW Athletics, I must always act in the best interests of our student-athletes, our department and our university.
“No one wanted Jimmy to succeed more than I when I hired him in 2019, but ultimately, this change is necessary for a variety of reasons, both on the field and off. I am grateful for Jimmy’s service to Washington, and we wish him the very best of luck moving forward.”
Lake’s contract runs through the 2024 season. The 44-year-old coach — who attended North Central High School in Spokane, before playing defensive back at Eastern Washington — was scheduled to make $3.2 million in 2022, $3.3 million in 2023 and $3.4 million in 2024. Lake was not fired for cause, and his $9.9 million buyout will be paid in monthly installments, with that number reduced by any new compensation Lake earns at another job between now and 2024.
The decision comes just six days after Lake was suspended for one week without pay for contacting UW linebacker Ruperake Fuavai during last Saturday’s 26-16 loss to rival Oregon. UW’s second-year head coach was shown on national TV attempting to separate Fuavai from a sideline scrum by hitting him in the facemask, then shoving him in the back when he turned to walk away.
“President [Ana Mari] Cauce, our Faculty Athletics Representative, Alexes Harris, and members of our executive staff are in agreement that while we do not believe that his actions were intentional or deliberate, we can have no tolerance for a coach interacting with a student in the manner Coach Lake did,” Cohen said in a statement after investigating the matter. “We have high expectations of conduct for our coaches, and we will not shy away from those expectations.”
Immediately after the Oregon game, when asked if he regretted striking Fuavai, Lake responded: “I separated him. I didn’t strike him. I separated him.”
It’s the last time Lake addressed the media in person as the Huskies’ head coach.
Lake — who arrived in Seattle as Petersen’s defensive backs coach in 2014, before being promoted to co-defensive coordinator (2016-17) and then defensive coordinator (2018-19) — went 7-6 in less than two full seasons at the helm. It was his first head coaching position in any capacity.
Lake’s chosen offensive coordinator, John Donovan, was also fired last Sunday — less than 24 hours after the 26-16 loss to Oregon.
Five eyewitnesses also allege that Lake forcefully shoved a player during halftime of a game at Arizona in 2019, The Times reported Sunday. When reached by phone on Friday, Lake said in a prepared statement that “I absolutely deny anything improper went on at halftime of the University of Arizona game in 2019.”
UW’s athletic department confirmed Friday that, while investigating the Fuavai incident, “one individual mentioned an alleged incident involving Coach Lake during the 2019 football game at Arizona. This is the first time (the) athletic department administration had been made aware of the alleged 2019 incident and we began to review that allegation; that work is ongoing.”
Washington went 3-1 and technically won the Pac-12 North in 2020, though its season abruptly ended due to a coronavirus outbreak within the program. After being ranked No. 20 nationally in the preseason, the Huskies dropped their 2021 opener at home to FCS Montana and are currently 4-6 — needing to win their final two games to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 2009.
Of equal or greater concern, UW’s 2021 signing class ranked just sixth in the Pac-12 and 36th in the nation by the 247Sports Composite, while the 2022 class sits eighth in the conference and 54th in the country. A cavalcade of in-state blue-chip recruits — including five-star defensive lineman J.T. Tuimoloau (Ohio State), five-star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State), four-star linebacker Julien Simon (USC) and four-star wide receiver Junior Alexander (Arizona State) — signed elsewhere in the 2021 cycle.
On that subject: Lake made unwelcome waves on Nov. 1, when he said he doesn’t consider Oregon a recruiting rival because of the university’s lack of “academic prowess.”
“The schools we go against are way more … have academic prowess — like the University of Washington, Notre Dame, Stanford, USC,” Lake said. “We go with a lot of battles toe-to-toe all the way to the end with those schools. So, I think that’s made up in your [media/recruiting service] world. In our world, we battle more academically prowess teams.”
Lake ascended the coaching ranks as an assistant in Seattle, helping the Huskies lead the Pac-12 in scoring defense and total defense for four consecutive seasons — from 2015 to 2018. He also tutored a parade of defensive backs-turned-NFL draft picks — including Budda Baker, Kevin King, Sidney Jones, Byron Murphy and Taylor Rapp. Under Petersen, UW won a pair of Pac-12 titles and reached the College Football Playoff in 2016.
Prior to arriving for a second stint in Seattle in 2014, Lake coached defensive backs for Boise State (2012-13), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2010-11, 2006-07), the Detroit Lions (2008), Montana State (2005), UW (2004) and Eastern Washington (1999-2003).
