WARRIOR FOOTBALL
Petersen’s concerns are about the Warriors and nothing else
Chris Petersen isn't about being a football coach. He's about coaching football.
And he wants his staff and players for 17th-ranked Boise State to have the same attitude. Don't get caught up in the trappings and the peripheral issues and sense of entitlement. Continue to do what you and those before you have done to get to this position.
Focus.
"We're just worried about (now)," Petersen said this week, when asked about building on six consecutive Western Athletic Conference championships and bringing his 10-1 (7-0 WAC) team into Aloha Stadium. This is a completely different team than in the past, and this is about this year and now, and we're just totally focused on playing our best against Hawaii.
"We're not gonna get caught up in all the other stuff that doesn't really concern us or help us play better. We're just directing all of our attention right to Hawaii."
That's Hawaii the football team, not Hawaii the playground.
Petersen said if the Broncos want to play at the beach or do the mai tais and mo-peds thing in Waikiki, they can come back and do it on their own time. Now is time to work.
Last July at the WAC Media Preview in San Jose, Calif., Petersen was cordial in accepting congratulations for the Broncos' storming of the BCS citadel and victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. But he also clearly indicated that he and his team had had its fill of celebration and was ready to get working on the 2007 season.
June Jones was voted WAC Coach of the Year last season, despite Petersen leading Boise State to an unbeaten record in his first season as head coach. It didn't bother the former Broncos offensive coordinator. When Jones mailed the award to him, Petersen packed it up again and sent it back to Jones.
"It's all about Boise State, the recognition that Boise State football gets," Petersen said. "It's not about me, it's not about any one player or any one coach. It's about all of us. I think Boise State's been well recognized.
The Star-Bulletin's Brian McInnis contributed to this report.