Keith Gilbertson is taking the Huskies back.
Back to the time when Washington was a respected program.
Back to the days of Don James, when his Huskies were the golden boys of Pacific-10 Conference football.
Back to the days of Washington’s winning ways, like it’s 1991 national championship.
Don’t get your feathers ruffled, Duck fans — the 4-4 Huskies won’t win the Rose or Sugar Bowl this season. It’s still a few years before it’s really Gilbertson’s team.
The players are still Rick Neuheisel’s recruits. Even while Slick Rick travels to South Seattle to coach Rainier Beach High School’s quarterbacks, the team is still his.
It will take a few years; Cody Pickett and Reggie Williams will graduate, the last in the line of Tuiasosopo’s may be on the team, and by then it will be Gilbertson’s team.
When James took over a struggling program in 1975, he had his two worst seasons — 6-5 and 5-6 — right away. It was smooth sailing from the 1977 10-2 season through the 1992 9-3 season, despite the final year being clouded by scandal.
The legend of former head coach Don James in Husky lore is similar in tone to how Ducks speak of Rich Brooks: “The coach that built a program” or “the coach who set them on the right path.”
James led Washington for 18 seasons, highlighted by a 12-0 co-national championship in 1991 and three consecutive Rose Bowls from 1991 to 1993.
James, the coach with the second-most conference wins in Pac-10 history (his 97 wins are one behind UCLA’s Terry Donahue and 98 wins in 20 seasons), left a legacy. He inspired his players, fellow coaches, fans and alumni.
Gilbertson coached for four seasons under James as a graduate assistant in 1976, the offensive line coach in 1989 and 1990, and the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 1991.
After the 1991 national championship, Gilbertson parted ways with the Huskies and headed south to California. In four seasons with the Golden Bears, Gilbertson’s squad finished in the top half of the Pac-10 twice.
The Snohomish, Wash., native then jumped to a three-year stint as an assistant coach for the Seattle Seahawks.
Earlier in his career, Gilbertson coached Idaho for three seasons, from 1986 to 1988. His three teams combined for a 28-9 record, leaving his .757 winning percentage as the second best in Big Sky Conference history.
While any consistency Gilbertson may have is unproven at large Division-I schools, he has led winning teams before. The struggle will be finding a groove while still riding the tails of scandal.
Three months and one day have passed since Gilbertson was officially named head coach. It’s been twenty weeks since he was named interim coach.
He’s barely had time to settle into the head coach’s roles, let alone plan for a long future with Washington.
But with Neuheisel’s scandals gone and Gilbertson’s James-ian coaching education at the helm, the Huskies may finally have a winner as coach.