Inside The Huskies

Kwiatkowski, Baker, Formerly of UW, to Reunite in Arizona

The former Husky defensive coordinator is heading to the NFL after he was let go at Texas.
Dan Raley|
Pete Kwiatkowski is a former UW and Texas defensive coordinator who will join the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.
Pete Kwiatkowski is a former UW and Texas defensive coordinator who will join the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. | Ricardo B. Brazziell / USA TODAY NETWORK

Pete Kwiatkowski, one of the more highly regarded University of Washington football assistant coaches over the past dozen years, has capped off a turbulent offseason for him by securing NFL employment.

Everyone should be able to land on their feet in this manner.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Kwiatkowski will join the Arizona Cardinals as their new defensive-line coach, a hiring that former former Husky and current Cardinals safety Budda Baker confirmed with his enthusiastic social-media posting.

"My defensive coordinator in college 9 years ago," Baker wrote. "I see you PK!!"

Pete Kwiatkowski coached at the UW in 2014-2020.
Pete Kwiatkowski coached at the UW in 2014-2020. | UW

It was five years ago that Kwiatkowski suddenly exited the UW football program to join Texas and former Husky coach Steve Sarkisian.

He left Montlake after working just one season for Jimmy Lake, with the insinuation made that he didn't like the direction Lake was taking the program, which he denied.

Either way, Kwiatkowski wisely missed out on a 4-8 UW downturn that brought a midseason coaching change and a lot of turmoil.

Kwiatkowski helped restore Texas to national prominence under Sarkisian, but his Longhorns defense this past season gave up 338 yards of total offense and 20 points per game for a 10-3 team, which was deemed too generous and he was forced out. He was making $1.7 million per season.

Interestingly enough, his defense kept things close in a 14-7 season-opening loss at Ohio State, held Oklahoma to six points and limited Texas A&M to 17.

Along the way, Kwiatkowski twice coached against the Huskies in bowl and/or playoff settings and lost each time: 27-20 in the 2022 Alamo Bowl and 37-31 in the 2024 Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff semifinals.

He and Baker shared in a 2016 football season that ended with the UW advancing to the CFP for the first time, to face and lose 24-7 to Alabama at the Peach Bowl in the playoff semifinals.

Baker led that 12-2 Husky team with 71 tackles and was named a consensus All-America safety, enabling him to become a second-round and the 36th overall pick for the Cardinals.

In nine seasons with Arizona, Baker has received eight Pro Bowl selections and shows no signs of slowing down.

Reunited with Kwiatkowski, in fact , should put an added bounce in his step for the coming season in the NFC West, which will bring both of them back to Seattle to face the Super Bowl-champion Seahawks.

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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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