Inside The Huskies

Jimmy Lake One of 17 on Dodd Trophy Watch List

The Husky coach gets to rub elbows with nation's most highly regarded college football leaders.
Dan Raley|
Jimmy Lake One of 17 on Dodd Trophy Watch List
Jimmy Lake One of 17 on Dodd Trophy Watch List

Everyone thinks they know Jimmy Lake. 

After four games as head coach.

One and a half recruiting cycles.

The occasional video interview clip.

The least-patient fans have made up their minds, suggesting the University of Washington football leader runs a boring offense and can't recruit the 5-stars sitting in his backyard. 

Then there's this opinion, one offered this week by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation that deems Lake worthy enough to be included on its watch list of 17 in the running for the Dodd Trophy. 

This group sees a new coach who kept things together in the face of a pandemic that literally wiped out his debut season.

"These coaches are coming off one of the most unprecedented and trying seasons in the history of college football, but found a way to persevere in the face of adversity," said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl CEO & president. "They have consistently found success no matter the circumstances and we look forward to seeing how they lead their teams as we return to a sense of normalcy this season."

Lake is the only Pac-12 coach to receive this Dodd Trophy consideration and joins an all-star cast of field generals.

Others up for the award are Tom Allen, Indiana; Mack Brown, North Carolina; Matt Campbell, Iowa State; Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina; Paul Chryst, Wisconsin; Ryan Day, Ohio State; Kirk Ferentz, Iowa; Luke Frickell, Cincinnati; Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M; James Franklin, Penn State; Brian Kelly, Notre Dame; Dan Mullen, Florida; Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma; Nick Saban, Alabama; Kirby Smart, Georgia; and Dabo Swinney, Clemson.

Bobby Dodd was the Georgia Tech football coach from 1945 to 1966, who won a national championship in 1952 and a pair of SEC titles when Tech was a member.

The thing about Lake is that nobody outside the UW program really knows who and what he's all about yet, not even the gaggle of media types who meet with him regularly.

Before spring football, he offered a candid and startling look behind the scenes at how he thinks about any number of topics, with it agreed upon beforehand that the details would not be shared publicly.

Lake was brutally honest about any number of topics. There's a fiery side to him that runs counter to his jovial manner before the cameras. He said stuff that made you sit up straight and digest it. At the end, he was like Bluto in the film "Animal House," ready to lead everybody out the door.

Prior to that was an image of Lake at the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl, shortly after he was named to replace Chris Petersen. Well before kickoff, the departing coach was all smiles and handshakes as he chatted up Boise State coaches at midfield. 

Lake was nearby, seated on a bench, with people purposely avoiding him. He wore earplugs and was listening to something, but he wasn't bouncing along to some song. He actually looked like he was smoldering, getting ready in his own way for a bowl game.

As this next season plays out, Lake should reveal the total package of who he is to the college football masses. That might be a fiery competitor who knows a lot more about play-calling and finding talent than his critics think, who hears what they say and doesn't like it.  

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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