Report claims UW picks Sarkisian

SEATTLE – USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is reportedly the next Washington football coach, but Sarkisian said he had not yet been offered the job.

ESPN reports Thursday evening said that Sarkisian will be named Washington’s next coach, but Sarkisian denied that the report was true.

“Nothing is finalized in any way, shape or form,” said the 34-year-old Sarkisian, who interviewed for the job last week. “There’s been some communication. Nothing has been put in writing.”

Sarkisian said his focus is on the Trojans’ final regular-season game against UCLA. Even if the Sarkisian hiring is a done deal, both sides would likely want to wait until after USC and Washington finish their seasons to make an announcement. A UW spokesman said no announcement is planned for Sunday.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m a candidate and honored to be,” said Sarkisian, who was a candidate for the Oakland Raiders’ head coaching job last year before withdrawing his name. “As of right now, Thursday night, I’m getting ready for Saturday. That’s ESPN’s report, not Washington’s or mine. It comes with the territory: job openings and speculation. The key is to focus on the job Saturday and not this conversation.

“I have not been offered the job. The interview went well, learning about each other. I’ve always been patient regarding head coaching opportunities. I assess each separately. They interview me, and I assess the job as well, like I did with the Oakland job. It’s a process. Neither party wants to rush into it.”

Washington athletic director Scott Woodward, who met with reporters before Washington’s men’s basketball game against Oklahoma State, also would not confirm the report.

“When we have an announcement to make, we’re going to make that announcement, and we do not have an announcement,” Woodward said.

Asked if ESPN had the right information in its report, Woodward said only, “When I announce it you’ll know.”

Washington president Mark Emmert elected not to comment when spotted at the Washington basketball game. Multiple players also said that they had not been told of a hire.

Sarkisian, whose current title is assistant head coach/offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, has spent six of the past seven years at USC, spending the 2004 season as the Raiders quarterbacks coach. Sarkisian, the 1996 Western Athletic Conference offensive player of the year as a quarterback at BYU, is one of four people known to have interviewed for the job along with Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach, Fresno State head coach Pat Hill and Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood.

The news of Sarkisian’s hiring capped a wild day in the coaching search during which Hill and Leach withdrew their names as candidates for the job.

Washington announced on Oct. 27 that Tyrone Willingham, who is 11-36 at the school, would not return for the fifth and final season of his contract.