Boise State’s Chris Petersen Reveals His Regrets Leaving Idaho

Former Boise State Football Coach Chris Petersen may not be on the sidelines anymore, but he continues to share his thoughts about his time in Boise. Mr. Petersen was not only the most successful coach in Boise State history but his tenure has been acknowledged by many of the game's experts as one that will not be replicated.

In the history of college football, a program has never been achieved so much with such limited resources.  (Mr. Petersen was 147-38 as a head coach, with most of those wins from his time at Boise State.)

Mr. Petersen left Boise State several years ago to go to the big-time coaching the Washington Huskies of the Pac-12. He took the team to their only appearance in the college football playoffs. After five years of coaching the Huskies, he suddenly decided to retire and now is a college football analyst for Fox Sports. The former coach may have left the game, but the game hasn't left him. He revealed why he left both Boise State and Washington in an interview on the podcast the Blue Print and picked up by Sports Illustrated.  

The coach who led the Broncos to beat the unbeatable revealed, "I am embarrassed to sit here and tell you today that was my thought process, that I was thinking that I'm going to take my old problems, throw them away and get a new set of problems at Washington, and that was going to solve my problems."

The move to Washington only amplified his problems leaving Mr. Petersen to retire from the game he loved at 55. He told the podcast that he never gave himself enough time to recover during the endless cycle of coaching, recruiting, fundraising, and being the face of two football powers.  

Mr. Petersen's legacy is still felt throughout the Boise State community. Many of his former players and coaches moved on to playing and coaching in the NFL and other major football powers. Although he's known as one of the game's greatest college coaches, 'Coach Pete' was a beloved member of the Boise community, volunteering to help raise money for local charities.  

Every year he would challenge the entire area to participate in the 'Beat Pete' fun run fundraiser benefiting a local charity. Winners received a shirt with the saying, ' I beat Pete.' Mr. Petersen would run along with everyone as folks did their very best to beat him. Could you see any other coach making himself available for a good cause?