Chris Petersen article on choosing UW instead of USC

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Negotiations were under way between USC and Petersen, and according to a source, general financial terms were agreed upon, but Petersen would not formally interview with Haden until after the regular season -- on Sunday, Dec. 1, in a Boise hotel.

It didn't go well, for Haden or for Petersen. The source compared it to a "bad date." Haden turned down an interview request, as did his top lieutenant, J.K. McKay, so the reported differences in that lengthy interview typically fall into a range between speculation and rumor.

Another source explained it like this: “I think it was a mutual idea that it might not have been a good fit. ... There were some things about the job that didn’t excite him too much, and there were things he said about how he viewed things that didn’t excite them.”

Petersen said it was clear during the conversation that he wasn't "the right fit" for Haden's vision of what USC's coach needed to be and do, and vice versa.

Whether because of Petersen not aggressively selling himself for the job, the L.A. lifestyle, the media demands, Haden's management style or concerns about whether Petersen's coaching and recruiting would translate from Boise State to the Pac-12, Petersen withdrew his USC candidacy. Shortly after the meeting, word leaked that USC was going to tap Sarkisian, a hiring that generated a lukewarm response from the Trojans' fan base.

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