Bob Gregory on His Future: 'Going to Have to Work Until I'm like 90'
Bob Gregory is like your favorite uncle. Self-deprecating and funny, he's the kind of guy who shows up at your Little League game when your dad can't make it. He's a ready and welcome stand-in.
For three weeks now, the defensive coordinator has been the face of Husky football after it went sideways, stepping in for the suspended and then fired Jimmy Lake.
Gregory, 57, has been that reassuring figure at the University of Washington who tells everyone, from the players to the media, that things will be all right even as he faces the prospect of putting his house up for sale and moving away.
He was the one on the coaching staff who athletic director Jen Cohen felt most comfortable with in putting behind the steering wheel of the school's biggest sporting enterprise, at least temporarily.
While the Huskies have lost both games where Gregory was in charge, he's left a positive impression in the way he's conducted himself in an otherwise impossible situation.
Now in his 35th year of coaching after graduating from Washington State, his Apple Cup opponent on Friday, Gregory has never been more than a defensive coordinator at Boise State, California and the UW among his various stops. Being a head coach never crossed his mind.
"To be honest, I never thought about it," Gregory said. "I always enjoyed the role with where I'm at."
Bob Gregory keeps a positive vibe going for the Huskies.
Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports
Once a difficult season ends, the Spokane native and eight UW coaches won't go out recruiting, won't be thinking about the Huskies' future, won't necessarily have a happy holidays.
They'll be waiting to hear who the school hires as Lake's replacement and a few might be considered for the new staff to keep some continuity in place.
Gregory most likely is moving on. Most new coaches tend to bring in their own hand-picked coordinators.
The Husky interim coach, however, won't be retiring. He'll be coaching somewhere next season, explaining why as only he can explain it.
"I have a freshman in college and a junior in high school," Gregory said. "I'm going to have to work until I'm like 90 probably, so I have a ways to go."
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