I pulled some of the Q&As from the Coack PK interview
Banks is a Jedi and clearly played a key role in luring Coach PK away from the West Coast, so some of you are just going to have to learn to tolerate the pole and the monkey
Did you know Sark previously?
I’ve known him in recruiting, a long time ago, in Orange County and L.A. Having coached with Justin (Wilcox) … Coach Wilcox and him worked together, so I’ve gotten to know him that way. And obviously competing against each other.
You helped recruit the state of Texas for UW. Did you spend much time in Austin?
I’ve been to Austin one time to visit the University of Texas, back when Mack Brown was coach and Will Muschamp was the DC. And then all the other times I’ve been there were for recruiting. I’d fly in or drive over from Dallas to go to a school and watch a kid practice or something, and I was out. I don’t know much about it other than I stayed downtown, drove through some neighborhoods, been through a couple high schools.
Could you get a sense of how different the football culture is there?
You can say that about the Midwest, the South. There’s definitely a different engagement from the fans. It’s just more of … it’s in their blood, you know? Some people say it’s like church for a lot of them. For whatever reason, it just means more to the fans in those parts of the country.
Is that part of the draw to Texas?
That all wears off. To me, coaching is about relationships and getting guys to get better. Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve always had good experiences because I’ve had great relationships with good people, and it’s been no different here at Washington, and I’m expecting to build the same type of deal at Texas with the guys there and the players there. To me, that’s what it’s always been about.
Way back when I was getting out of college, I was going to be a schoolteacher and I wanted to enjoy going to work and doing what I’m doing, and not have it be work on a day-in, day-out basis. I was fortunate enough to be able to get into college football. Everywhere I’ve been, it always comes back to the relationships, the friendships and working toward something with other guys, young and old.
Who do you know on staff there?
I know Jeff Banks and Torre Becton, the strength coach. Torre was here. And I’ve known Jeff for a long time, way back in our Big Sky days, hanging out together, recruiting.
What was that first call with Sark like?
“What’s up, man? How we doing?” Just real casual. We just really chopped it up. Nothing different than talking to an acquaintance or friend.
What was the biggest difference between this opportunity and some others over the years?
It’s the University of Texas. I know Sark. I know guys who have coached with Sark. I know a couple guys on the staff, so I have a good feel for the culture and what it’s going to be like working with all these guys. And then I paired that with, I’ve been here seven years, and I wasn’t opposed to going out and doing something to start over. That’s what it really boiled down to.
