Coaching Spotlight: Steve Sarkisian, University of Washington Huskies

Steve Sarkisian, surrounded by Huskies, cheers on the Washington team. (Photo from Creative Commons)

Steve Sarkisian is a relatively young head coach. At 38, he has already coached at two schools and for the Oakland Raiders and has been head coach at University of Washington since 2009. Of course, Sarkisian is also set apart in that he didn't play football his whole life. Being 6' tall and weighing only 165 lbs, Sarkisian played baseball through college until a coach at El Camino College encouraged him to reconsider football. It paid off in that he set a national junior college record of most passes completed in only his second year playing. Sarkisian went on to play quarterback in the Canadian Football League.

In 2000, Sarkisian returned to El Camino College as an assistant coach, but after only a year became assistant coach at the University of Southern California, where he had played baseball as a student. Finally, in 2009 he began coaching the University of Washington Huskies who have been rather successful since.

Sarkisian is a devout Catholic and has three children.