ESPN REPORT: The Washington Huskies football Head Coach is Being Fired Due to…
Jimmy Lake, Washington’s football coach in his second year, was sacked on Sunday.
For the 4-6 Huskies, defensive coordinator Bob Gregory will take over as head coach in the interim.
Athletic director Jen Cohen of Washington said in a statement, “Making a head-coaching change in any sport is difficult, recognizing that the decision impacts coaches, staff, student-athletes and their families.” But I have a responsibility to always act in the best interests of our student-athletes, our department, and our university as the steward of UW Athletics. When I recruited Jimmy in 2019, no one wanted him to succeed more than I did, but in the end, there are a number of reasons—both on and off the field—why this change is required.
“I am grateful for Jimmy’s service to Washington, and we wish him the very best of luck moving forward.”
Cohen said she told Lake about her choice earlier in the day in what she called “a professional conversation” during a virtual news conference on Sunday night.
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Lake was fired on Saturday, one week after serving a one-game, non-paying suspension for an incident on November 6 that occurred on the sidelines and appeared to involve him striking redshirt freshman linebacker Ruperake Fuavai during a 26-16 loss to Oregon.
At halftime of a 2019 game against Arizona, Lake was the subject of another accusation that he had physical contact with a player, according to a report published on Saturday by the Seattle Times, which referenced five unnamed players.
Although it’s unclear how the two altercations contributed to Lake’s termination, the school says Washington will uphold his end of the bargain. Without taking into account any offsets from future profits, he owes about $9.9 million.
“My decision was not influenced by a single element. When making a decision this important, you take a lot of things into account, including wins and losses as well as the lack of fan support, Cohen added. “Let me just say that I took a lot of time and sought a lot of advice before making this very deliberate decision. I simply can’t pinpoint a single event or cause that brought me to this point today.”
When asked if the school thought about terminating Lake for cause in light of the sideline incident, Cohen remained silent. She stated that money from the sports department will be used to pay for Lake’s contract buyout.
Before Lake was announced as Chris Petersen’s replacement in December 2019, she was considered a rising talent in the coaching world for many years. At Boise State, Lake began working for Petersen’s staff in 2012. In 2016, he was elevated to the position of co-defensive coordinator at Washington.
Before his suspension and final firing, Lake coached just 13 games at Washington. He leaves with a 7-6 career record.
Lake, 44, took over one of the top Pac-12 programs from Petersen, something he helped establish, but the Huskies have significantly underperformed in 2021 after finishing 3-1 in the previous season’s shortened schedule.
They had one of the worst offenses in the Pac-12, lost 13-7 to FCS Montana to start the season, and need to win their last two games (at Colorado; at Washington State) to qualify for bowl games. Since 2009, Washington has not missed out on a bowl opportunity.
Under Lake’s direction, recruiting has been appalling despite his prior reputation as one of the finest in the nation. The Huskies are ranked No. 54 nationwide by 247Sports and do not appear in the top 40 of ESPN’s recruiting class rankings.
Cohen stated that in addition to using an outside search company, she will also rely on a panel of advisors to select the next coach for Washington.
This season, Lake joins Clay Helton of USC and Nick Rolovich of Washington State as the third Pac-12 coach fired. Both Rolovich and Lake were hired before the 2020 season, and despite the cancellation of last year’s game due to COVID, they both left their positions without ever coaching in the Apple Cup rivalry game.
Chris Low of ESPN contributed to this article.
