Former Boise State Football Coach Chris Petersen continues to be the enigma who captures the attention of both college football fans and the media. Petersen made news recently with an interview he gave to the folks at satellite radio that were covered by my colleague Mateo here. Rivaling Mateo's coverage of Coach Pete was a profile of him in last year's Wall Street Journal. Petersen never won a national title and arguably walked away at the peak of his career, and yet he continues to draw the interest of journalists.

Chris Petersen discusses his past and future with Bruce Feldman of the Athletic. Feldman is one of the best reporters/authors who cover college football. He's written books from the rise of the Miami Hurricanes to the recent championship of the LSU Tigers.

Who can forget Coach Pete? Remember the Beat Pete Fun Run? Coach Pete embraced the community and continues to do so today. He and Mrs. Petersen have generously donated to the Ronald McDonald House next to St. Luke's.

Leaving Boise State

Petersen tells Feldman that he felt burned out at Boise. He believed going to a bigger school would rekindle his competitive fire. "When I look back at it right now, my solution for feeling better was trading one set of problems for different problems — and that's going to make me happy? All that does is, you're numb for a while because you're so busy creating your way of doing things."

He continues by revealing that it was difficult to recharge at Washington because the grind never stops. Petersen says he's gotten a 'Ph.D. from the School of Hard Knocks.'

At the end of his time with the Huskies, Coach Pete believed he lacked clarity in how to help his players. He thought leaving was the challenging part while staying would've been more accessible.

Petersens's Future?

Petersen is currently working for the Foster School of Business and working as a consultant. He worries about the balance of life and works for current college football coaches. Petersen says the forced Zoom recruiting has limited travel for existing coaches and has allowed them more time with their families.