Petersen's decision turned out to be an easy one

For three days, Chris Petersen agonized over what may have been the biggest decision in his professional life.

Should he join good friend Dan Hawkins at Colorado and become the Buffs' new offensive coordinator, or stay at Boise State and throw his name in the hat to replace Hawkins as head coach?

"Did I want to move my family to a new place and do what I had already been doing for five years?" Petersen asked himself. "I love this area and so does my family. This was a great opportunity."

And, when you look at it, it was an easy decision for BSU to make. Petersen was signed to a deal worth $500,000 a season, third-best in the Western Athletic Conference. Not bad for a guy with no head-coaching experience.

It was Petersen's great offensive schemes that helped develop standout quarterbacks Ryan Dinwiddie and Jared Zabransky, who have been responsible for the Broncos finishing in the top 15 in total offense four of the last five years.

Petersen said he doesn't feel any pressure taking over a team that was 53-11 in the past five seasons under Hawkins.

"I'll just say this. I don't feel any different than if I took over a program that hadn't won a game in five years," he said. "Probably one of my weaknesses is putting too much pressure on myself. If we lost a game here I firmly believed it was my fault for not scoring enough points. Now I have to step back and see the big picture."

Hawkins, at least to the media, appeared stand-offish at times. Petersen figures to be more approachable even though at Media Day he let it be known he prefers to be on the practice field or meeting room with his players.

At least through the spring, their coaching styles seem to be the same.

"They both like to get out there, get the work done and get off the field," linebacker Korey Hall said.

Both Hall and Zabransky said that Petersen may be more approachable than Hawkins. Of course, since Petersen personally tutored Zabransky the past four years, the quarterback might be prejudiced.

"He's a very approachable guy," Zabransky said. "When you talk to him, you always feel like he's listening. He always wants what's best for you. I would call him a player's coach. We have a great deal of respect for one another."

"I think he relates to the guys maybe a little better," Hall said. "He's more on our level and talks to us more. Hawk was into reading books about ancient warriors. I think you can learn a lot from both styles. It was definitely nice for me to have a change."

Petersen smiled when told of Zabransky's comments. He had nothing but praise for Hawkins.

"I always thought Hawk was an approachable guy," Petersen said. "I thought he was a player's coach.

"One of the things before coach left to go to Colorado was we felt like the players were getting stale and maybe we had lost our edge. After hearing the same thing over and over, you can get numb even if it's right and they know it's right. The kids have embraced the change."

One thing that will change from the previous five years is that Petersen won't be calling the plays on game day. That assignment goes to Bryan Harsin, the new offensive coordinator.

"I'll be involved in putting the game plan together," Petersen said. "I think that's the critical part of what we're doing. The grind during the week getting it (game plan) right. Calling the game is the fun part, but I think lots of guys can do it. Bryan is ready."

Petersen didn't seem too wild about playing Colorado. The 41-year-old coach said he will talk to Hawkins about things and pick his brains just like he's done with friends at other schools.

"I don't know about playing those teams," Petersen said. "It can be awkward and weird. Someone has to lose and you don't like beating your friends."

Petersen, a former assistant at Oregon, still talks with coaches there and at Cal and ASU. He stressed that you constantly learn, and find different ways to do things better and become a more effective coach.

No doubt Petersen will learn plenty this year, as the Broncos grind toward what they hope is their fifth straight WAC title.