Chris Petersen to resign as Washington’s football coach

Washington coach Chris Petersen said Monday that he is stepping down after six seasons at the school, with defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake promoted to being over the program.

Petersen’s decision was shocking coming off a season where the Huskies went 7-5 in the regular season and are bound for a sixth straight bowl game under his leadership. Petersen will coach the team in that game.

The school said Petersen, 55, will transition into a “leadership advisory role” within the athletic department. Petersen was 146-38 combined during his time as the head coach at Boise State and Washington. In a statement, Petersen said he’ll be a “Husky for life, but now is the right time for me to step away from my head coaching duties, and recharge.”

Lake, 42, has turned down several other coaching opportunities in recent years and has seemed to be the successor to Petersen whenever he did decide to step away from coaching.