Lake Promotes Gregory to UW Defensive Coordinator
Jimmy Lake didn't have to go far to find a new University of Washington defensive coordinator to replace Pete Kwiatkowski — he just walked down the hall and stuck his head in Bob Gregory's office.
On Monday, the Husky coach announced he had promoted Gregory to run his defense after Kwiatkowski left for Texas, among a flurry of moves to fill out his staff.
Lake also moved Ikaika Malloe from defensive-line coach to take over Gregory's previous outside-linebackers assignment; promoted the aptly named Rip Rowan, from defensive analyst to defensive-line coach; and made running-backs coach Keith Bhonapha also the special-teams coordinator.
Gregory, who came to the UW as part of Chris Petersen's staff in 2014, previously was a defensive coordinator at Boise State (2001) and at California (2002-09).
While some of the fan base won't be enamored with this move — Gregory has a love-hate relationship with these guys because he's not an extroverted personality, plus he was a WSU linebacker and defensive back, and an Oregon assistant coach — Lake indicated it was a natural step.
"Coach Gregory is the perfect fit to take over the reins as our new defensive coordinator," said Lake, the UW defensive coordinator himself in 2018 and 2019. "He has extensive experience as a coordinator in this league and has been a big part of our success on that side of the ball the last seven seasons."
Lake said he interviewed outside candidates, but wasn't inclined to change his defense to appease a new guy entering his program.
"We're going to build on what we've done," he said.
Rowan is the real wild card here, moving up without any previous experience as a full-time coach. He's been at the UW as an analyst for just short of two years. He was a graduate assistant for Florida Atlantic and Southern Mississippi, and a defensive end and linebacker for Austin Peay.
The Georgia native, an animated sort required for this role, takes over a position area that was the decided weak link for the Husky team that just completed an abbreviated pandemic season.
"He has great relationships with everyone in our building and I'm looking forward to seeing his continued growth as he leads our D-linemen," Lake said of Rowan.
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