It’s been a relatively turbulent few weeks for a Boise State football program noted for its stability.
The postseason coaching shuffle swept Chris Petersen to Washington after eight highly successful seasons on Boise’s blue turf, placing assistant coach Bob Gregory in command of the Broncos heading into Tuesday’s Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.
Gregory’s stint as interim head coach will be brief — stretching from Petersen’s departure on Dec. 6 through the Christmas Eve game against Oregon State — with newly hired Bryan Harsin poised to take over thereafter.
In the meantime, the responsibility of preparing the Broncos for the program’s 12th straight bowl appearance falls to Gregory, who continues to follow Petersen’s lead.
"The process really has been really smooth," Gregory said at the Hawaii Bowl press conference Friday at the Sheraton Waikiki.
"Coach Petersen is obviously an outstanding head coach and we’re just following the process we would have normally followed whether Coach Pete was here or not. I’m really not doing too much other than blowing a whistle when we gotta change drills. … So we really haven’t missed a beat at all. We have just continued to go like we normally do."
Well, not completely normal.
The head coaching position includes having to mete out discipline when necessary, a task Gregory took on shortly after the team’s arrival in Honolulu on Thursday.
"It’s one of those deals coming with the job," Gregory said in regard to the suspension of two quarterbacks on Friday.
Joe Southwick, who started all 13 games last season and the first seven this fall, and Nick Patti were suspended prior to the Broncos’ practice at the University of Hawaii’s Ching Field.
Later Friday afternoon, it was announced that Southwick had been suspended for the game and sent home due to a violation of team rules, ending the senior’s college career.
Patti, a redshirt freshman, was reinstated and will be available as a backup to junior Grant Hedrick.
Hedrick started four games after Southwick suffered an ankle injury against Nevada on Oct. 19. Southwick started the regular-season finale against New Mexico but played just the opening series, with Hedrick going the rest of the way in the 45-17 win. Since taking over, Hedrick is completing close to 68 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Hedrick helped keep Boise State — which went a remarkable 92-12 under Petersen’s leadership — in contention for the Mountain West Conference’s Mountain Division title before suffering a late-season loss to San Diego State. A 6-2 finish in league play left the Broncos out of the conference title game but looking to punctuate the season with a fifth straight bowl victory.
Boise State leads the nation in winning percentage since 2000 at .861 (155-25) and the Broncos’ four losses this season mark the program’s highest total since the 2005 team went 9-4 in Dan Hawkins’ final year as head coach.
"This is really important to us," senior offensive lineman Charles Leno said. "The guys in the locker room know that it’s not the season we wanted, but we’re happy to be here playing a good team and we’re ready."
Gregory, who coaches the Broncos linebackers, has the assurance of having his next step lined up, though he’s reserving comment on his future until after the bowl game.
Harsin has retained two current assistants, with several others expected to follow Petersen to Seattle, including former Hawaii defensive back Keith Bhonapha.
In preparing for the bowl game, Gregory indicated the possible distraction of the transition process hasn’t trickled down to the practice field.
"We have not had one bad practice or a slow practice or a sluggish practice," Gregory said. "Our guys had great energy today. It’s a little hotter than we’re used to, but our guys did a great job."
