Gilbertson Returns To Huskies As Aide

Tue., Jan. 19, 1999

From Staff

Keith Gilbertson, a former University of Washington assistant football coach, is returning, new head coach Rick Neuheisel announced Monday.

Gilbertson’s role will be announced after the rest of the Huskies staff is named, Neuheisel said.

Gilbertson was a Seattle Seahawks assistant the past three seasons. He spent a year working as Seattle’s defensive specialist, and the past two as tight-ends coach.

Gilbertson, a former University of Idaho head coach, was an assistant at Washington from 1989-91, leaving to take over as head coach at California.

His four-year term there was highlighted by the 1993 season, when Cal posted a 9-4 record and defeated Iowa in the Alamo Bowl - the school’s last bowl victory.

Koetter spurns NFL

Similar to the University of Idaho’s Chris Tormey, Boise State football coach Dirk Koetter was involved in a couple of recent job searches.

Neither received as much attention as Tormey’s flirtations with Washington and Oregon State, but were significant nonetheless.

Koetter turned down NFL assistant coaching positions with the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers. Both were to be quarterbacks coach.

Koetter and new Philadelphia coach Andy Reid worked together at San Francisco State and Texas ElPaso. In 1997, when Ray Rhodes was the head coach at Philadelphia, he tried to hire Koetter, a quarterback at Idaho State in his playing days, as his quarterbacks coach. Rhodes, now at Green Bay, made another run at Koetter last week.

Koetter considered Green Bay’s offer for several days before declining Saturday. The money was roughly the same ($150,000) as he’s expected to make at BSU.

Numerous factors led to Koetter staying at BSU. For one, his family just moved into a new home they had built in Boise. For another, the contracts on Koetter’s nine assistants expire at the end of the month. If he left for another job, his assistants could have been left jobless.

Koetter has signed a four-year, $600,000 contract at Boise that awaits approval of the State Board of Education.

Thomas in Hawaii

Idaho running back Joel Thomas is in Hawaii preparing for the Hula Bowl all-star game Sunday.

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Gilbertson Returns To Huskies As Aide

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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