Seattle Sportsnet

“Boy, that escalated quickly.” –Ron Burgundy, Anchorman

With reports only emerging yesterday morning that USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian was a candidate for the head football coaching vacancy at the University of Washington, multiple sources confirmed last night that it was in fact Sarkisian who would become the next Husky coach. While the school would neither confirm nor deny these reports, a number of sources inside the UW program verified that this was the direction the athletic department had chosen to go.

Sarkisian is an interesting choice, but a good one nonetheless. He’s 34-years of age, meaning he’ll have a chance to establish his legacy on Montlake if he so chooses. He’s been in charge of one of the most prolific offenses in recent history with the USC Trojans, who scored 56 against the Huskies this season. And, for those of us against the spread option, Sarkisian runs a pro style offense that tends to translate better from program to program and is more likely to produce immediate results.

One question that will undoubtedly emerge about Sarkisian is whether he’s as talented a coach as USC has made him seem, or if he’s simply a benefactor of the talented players around him. The answer remains to be seen.

With regards to recruiting, a young, enthusiastic coach should be an improvement over the older, dry Tyrone Willingham. While Willingham arguably spent his time recruiting parents and character, a younger coach should be more apt at recruiting players themselves and the talent it takes to win at the college level.

The one big problem Sarkisian may encounter is the recruiting of local prep QB Jake Heaps of Skyline (Issaquah). Heaps is a national consensus top-5 QB for his class (he’s a junior this year) and runs the spread option under coach Mat Taylor right now. He’s been an outspoken advocate of the spread and has expressed his desire to continue with the system he’s familiar with in college. Having Sarkisian and his pro-style offense at the helm may make it difficult to attract Heaps and other skill-position players who have tutored under the guidance of the spread, but winning could cure all that and eliminate any questions we may have right now.