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Inside The Huskies

Cozzetto Was a Guy Who Could Always Go Home Again

The Husky offensive-line coach for the Gilbertson and Sarkisian staffs dies at 70.
Dan Raley|
Dan Cozzetto, former UW assistant coach, has died.
Dan Cozzetto, former UW assistant coach, has died. | UW

One of the traits of a successful college football coach is the ability to work for someone a second time.

Dan Cozzetto was that man. He didn't just do it once, he made this happen at three different schools -- and he even was employed by one of those football programs on three separate occasions.

Cozzetto's best references, and they included the University of Washington, were always his own.

This past Thursday, the bald, brash, often profane and always lovable football coach died reportedly from cardiac issues. He was 70.

A Spokane native, Cozzetto was the Huskies offensive-line coach for Keith Gilbertson's staff in 2003 and again in the same capacity for Steve Sarkisian in 2009-2012.

"Coach C was one of those old-school ball coaches," said UW tight-ends coach Jordan Paopao, who worked with him on Sarkisian's staff. "He coached hard but he loved on you hard."

The UW also saw him plenty of times as an opposing coach. He drew a paycheck at Arizona State on three separate occasions, working for coach Bruce Snyder in 1992-99, for Dennis Erickson in 2007-08 and for Herm Edwards in 2018.

Idaho, his alma mater, was another school that employed Cozzetto multiple times, bringing him on board in 1978-89 and again in 2006.

As word of his passing spread, the coach was remembered for bringing Husky practice to an abrupt stop one day and in a very loud voice asking his players specifically who had taught them the mistakes they were continually making over and over.

Cozzetto grew up in Spokane and played football for Gonzaga Preparatory School and then went on to Idaho to be a college tight end, offensive guard and linebacker. His first coaching job came with the Vandals, as well.

He also held jobs with California (1990-91) Oregon State (2000-02) and the San Francisco 49ers, joining Erickson once more in the NFL.

In 1997, Cozzetto's Arizona State offense led the Pac-10 in rushing at 200.0 yards per game. In 1999, the The Sun Devils averaged 172.1 rushing yards per game.

Late in his career, he tried to resurrect a moribund Phoenix College football program as its head coach. It didn't matter where he went, he always left an impression on people.

"Cozzetto was much more like a dictator-drill sergeant," said Huskies starting center Brad Vanneman in 2004. "He would bust on you and challenge your manhood."

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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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