Bush Hamdan Chris Petersen reunite for 2018 Washington Football Team

The Washington Football team will see a familiar face in 2018. Chris Petersen has rehired coach Bush Hamdan as the 2018 offensive coordinator for the team.

It all comes down to strategy.  And so, sometimes to move ahead, you need to take a step back. In fact, such is the strategy of the Washington Football team in the re-hire of former coach Bush Hamdan as the quarterback coach and offensive coordinator under head coach Chris Petersen. A move which is absolutely the best fit for both the program and the coaching staff.

The vacancy occured when former quarterback coach and offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith accepted a vacant head coaching position with the Oregon State Beavers.  That placed the Washington Football team in need of both continuity and coaching expertise.  In the hire of Bush Hamdan, the Huskies nailed both.

UW to NFL to UW

Hamdan was the Washington football team offensive quality control assistant in 2015 and wide receiver coach in 2016. He developed wide receivers John Ross, Dante Pettis, and Chico McClatcher so well that he was hired to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons as their quarterback coach this season.  Currently, the Atlanta Falcons are 7-5, and are just outside the cusp of playoff teams.

Part of the reason for the lower than expected results of a defending NFC champion has been the performance of the offense.  But that is more about the offensive plays and less about the play of quarterback Matt Ryan.  Still, Bush Hamdan is a newcomer to a team which experienced a letdown of sorts.  So it makes sense he would be receptive to return to a team he knows very well.

Home is where the heart is

The Washington Football team need continuity now. The program is improving each season, despite the results. And with the exodus of key players from the team once more, an offensive coordinator who is familiar with the existing players helps to prevent a setback next year.

Hamdan helped recruit players to the University of Washington. As such, he needn’t read up for weeks trying to decypher who each player will be in purple and gold.  At the end of this season, the team will lose senior tight end Will Dissley, wide receivers Dante Pettis and Coleman Shelton, running back Lavon Coleman and offensive lineman Andrew Kirkland.  The team also risks losing running back Myles Gaskin and offensive tackle Trey Adams in the 2018 NFL Draft. (albeit Adams has indicated he will return for his senior season).

Turn the page to a new chapter

It was Bush Hamden’s efforts which brought wide receivers Terrell Bynum, Alex Cook, and Ty Jones to the team in 2017. Now, he will have the opportunity to coach them.  But he will also have the opportunity to work with the 2018 crop of talented prospects as well, including a pair of standout quarterbacks in Jacob Sirmon and Colson Yankoff.

Next: RB Richard Newton commits to Washington Football 2018 recruiting class

The Washington offense continued to impress throughout the 2017 season. But the two losses, one at Arizona State and the second at Stanford, left plenty of room to second guess the team’s play calling.  In both losses, the team enjoyed tremendous success on the ground. And yet, Myles Gaskin number was not called very often.  Now, the hope is a new offensive coordinator can improve upon the vanilla offense whose predicatability allowed two losses.