Petersen no couch potato in Boise

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BOISE, Idaho - In Chris Petersen's clutter-free office sits a nice-looking beige sofa tucked under a collection of replica NFL helmets. It looks pristine, hardly used. "I've thought about napping on it -- but only during the day," Petersen said with a frown. "I won't use it otherwise."

Meaning the Boise State football coach will not allow the usual demands of coaching to drain the joy out of the job.

Petersen heads smallish Boise State, a gem in the Treasure Valley and thorn in the side of everyone else.

Ranked No. 3 nationally and projected to be No. 1 in this season's first BCS computer rankings, the Broncos hope to become the first non-BCS program to barge into the national title game. But Petersen doesn't talk BCS. He deems that "outside noise" and tunes it out. He emphasizes practice, growth and improvement.

"It's very easy to fall into that non-stop grind, but I won't," Petersen said. "Coaches use that sleeping-overnight-in-the-office thing as a badge of honor. You hit the halfway point of the season, and you're worn out, so tired you can't think.

"We prefer to out-think and out-smart people."

Petersen turned 46 last Wednesday. He looks younger and has stayed within 10 pounds of his college playing weight. He reads to unwind. He likes that he can zip home, five miles from the campus, for lunch. He sleeps well and said, "We can get what we need done here from 7 in the morning to 7 at night, then go be with family. We have a pretty good view of the big picture."

Boise State is 54-4 since Petersen became the coach in 2006. Heading into the weekend, the Broncos own the nation's longest winning streak at 19 games. They are a national TV draw for their never-boring style and quirky blue field.

Petersen tries to avoid the spotlight. When he goes out with his family -- wife Barbara and sons Jack, 14, and Sam, 11 -- he does not wear Boise State colors. Petersen wants to be another face in the crowd, downplaying that he has become the face of the program.

"I'm shy, and if I could have it my way, I'd just coach the guys," Petersen said. "If there's one person who could step away from here and no one would really know the difference, it's probably me."

Football experts and fans dispute this. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit contends, "Boise State is where it is now because of Coach Petersen."

"Coach Pete.'' The phrase still makes Petersen uneasy. When informed last month that Al Wintermote -- the manager at Marathon Cheese in Mountain Home, about 45 miles southeast of Boise -- named his chocolate lab "Coach Pete," Petersen nodded and exhaled.

"These are the greatest fans, the most genuine people," Petersen said. "But 'Coach Pete?'"

Petersen grew up in Yuba City, Calif. He tagged along with his father when he coached football at Yuba College in the 1970s and early '80s. Petersen was also a three-year standout at Yuba City High School as a defensive back and quarterback. But Petersen never talked about coaching.

"He saw the trials and tribulations I went through, and that was as a junior college coach," said his father Ron. "Chris didn't want 18- to 22-year-olds determining his happiness."

At 5-10, Petersen drew mild recruiting interest as a defensive back. He yearned to play quarterback and wound up at Sacramento City College in 1983. Petersen steered the Panthers to an 11-0 start and the state's No. 1 ranking.

"I look back, and I must have been the dumbest coach anywhere," said Jack Sullivan, his former SCC coach. "I didn't let Chris call plays. And look at how he calls plays now. Smart, calm player. You could tell he was something special."

After transferring to Cal-Davis, Petersen set 16 school and six NCAA passing marks. He led the Aggies to their 15th and 16th consecutive conference championships.

"Chris was outstanding here," said Jim Sochor, the UCD coach then. "We thought he'd be a great coach, too, (with) his personality and temperament."

Petersen didn't consider coaching until his playing days ended.

"I was going to play in the Canadian Football League," Petersen said. "Two days before I was to report, I got a call that the Montreal Alouettes folded. What do I do now? I did not have a plan. Do I go to grad school?"

Sochor persuaded Petersen to coach the freshman team in 1987. While Petersen earned degrees in psychology and education, his teams competed in front of a couple dozen fans. He asked to lead the freshmen in 1988, too, recalling, "I did such a poor job, I wanted another shot."

Petersen went 5-5, worked on the varsity UCD staff from 1989-91, then set out to build his résumé. Quarterbacks coach at Pittsburgh, 1992. Quarterbacks coach at Portland State, 1993-94. Receivers coach at Oregon, 1995-2000. Offensive coordinator at Boise State, 2001-05.

"I stayed at UCD out of loyalty to coaches like Bob Foster, an all-time mentor, and Sochor," Petersen said. "I thought I liked psychology, doing that for a career, but I didn't love it. I started to love coaching."

Petersen said he is not interested in moving on, despite offers from larger programs, maintaining that the grass is not greener on the other side of the blue turf. Petersen has a five-year contract. His office is no different than many of his assistants', simple and modest.

Boise, with a population of 210,000, is 300 miles from Salt Lake City, the closest major city. So Boise State athletics rule here. Sports bars are clogged with fans and gear.

The campus is scenic, with the Boise foothills serving as a backdrop and the Boise River snaking along the northern edge of campus. Players jump in after summer practices. Coach Pete often jogs along the river.

Boise State plays in a rocking 33,500-seat stadium with plans to expand. With only a promise of competition and growth, Petersen and his staff locate hidden talents. Boise State has never had a national top-50 recruiting class.

"A ton of credit has to go to 'Coach Pete,'" said Barry Wilgus, a longtime Broncos booster, while thumbing through new gear at the team store. "We're talking the most famous man in the state, and he's a football coach."

The Broncos have a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Kellen Moore. He grew up in Prosser, a two-stop-sign town in Eastern Washington.

The Broncos' roster includes starting defensive tackle Chase Baker, who said he is "indebted to Coach Pete and this program" for being the only school to offer a scholarship after he blew out his knee twice before taking a snap in his senior year of high school.

Cornerback Brandyn Thompson said Petersen and the Broncos "fit exactly what I wanted, and I fit what they want."

Petersen said he would have been a vagabond coach, chasing the next job, if not for a family health scare. When Petersen was coaching at Oregon, 13-month-old Sam fell in the bleachers. An examination revealed he had cancer. Surgery removed a tumor, but the disease spread to his spine. There was a stem-cell transplant, chemotherapy, a lot of prayer. Sam has been cancer free for four years. Petersen still calls Sam a "miracle baby." Barbara said an "angel" pushed her son that day.

"That was reality, real perspective," Petersen said. "It really changed my life and how I viewed a lot of things."

Sam lives for the Broncos. When ESPN GameDay came to Boise last month, Sam insisted on being at the 5 a.m. rally on campus. His dad at that hour? Sound asleep.

(Contact Joe Davidson at jdavidson(at)sacbee.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)

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