The University of Washington confirmed today what Realdawg.com has been pointing at all week. Bush Hamdan has been named the new OC for the Huskies.
We spoke to Hamdan this week and he wouldn’t comment on the situation either way, but we were pretty certain this was where it was going when we learned earlier in the week that he had been contacted.
We also had reason to believe that he had met with Chris Petersen.
Here’s the official release from UW is as follows:
Hamdan, who is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons, will return to Seattle once the Falcons’ season comes to an end. Hamdan spent the 2017 season coaching the Falcon’s Matt Ryan, one of the NFL’s top QBs.
“I’m very excited that Bush is coming back to join our staff,” Petersen said. “He’s part of the family, and he’s going to do an outstanding job for us.”
Hamdan served as the Huskies’ wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator in 2016, during which the UW broke numerous offensive records and wideout John Ross III earned All-America honors, catching 81 passes for 1,150 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also coached Dante Pettis, who scored 15 receiving TDs in 2016, making he and Ross the most prolific scoring receiver duo in Pac-12 history.
A two-time former offensive coordinator, Hamdan’s résumé includes a wide variety of successful experiences over a relatively short period of time.
Hamdan originally joined the Husky staff prior to the start of the 2015 season as an offensive quality control assistant, reuniting him with Petersen, his former college coach.
Hamdan spent the 2014 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Davidson, where he coached starting QB J.P. Douglast to a 66-percent completion percentage and a 130.41 pass efficiency rating. Wide receiver William Morris caught 98 passes for 1,224 yards, a Davidson record. The Wildcats had five players earn postseason honors from the Pioneer Football League, including running back Jeffrey Keil, the offensive freshman of the year.
In 2014, Davidson increased its scoring average nearly 10 points from the previous year and its total offense average by 40 yards per game.
Prior to his time at Davidson, he held the title of co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas State, helping to lead the Red Wolves to the 2013 Sun Belt championship and a berth in the GoDaddy.com Bowl, a 23-20 win over Ball State. Starting signal caller Adam Kennedy, a transfer from Utah State recruited by Hamdan, completed 69.2 percent of his 315 attempts for 2,363 yards and a 139.93 efficiency rating while a balanced offensive attack averaged 407.8 yards per game (205.7 by rush and 202.1 by pass). Six Red Wolves earned some level of All-Sun Belt Conference honors in 2013.
In 2012, Hamdan helped coach Florida to an 11-2 record and a berth in the Sugar Bowl as the Gators’ wide receivers coach. He was promoted to the position by Gators head coach Will Muschamp just prior to the start of the season and coached four players who have played in the NFL – Frankie Hammond (Chiefs); Solomon Patton (Buccaneers, Cardinals and Broncos); Andre Debose (Raiders); and Quinton Dunbar (Redskins).
Prior to his time in Gainesville, Hamdam coached tight ends at Sacramento State in 2011 and was an offensive intern at Maryland in 2010. During his season with the Hornets, he was part of an historic upset of Oregon State in the season opener.
At Maryland, he worked with freshman quarterback Danny O’Brien, who broke nearly every freshman passing record at Maryland, earning ACC Rookie of the Year honors. Hamdan was part of a Ralph Friedgen staff that made one of the biggest turnarounds in recent college history, posting a 9-4 record after having gone 2-10 in 2009. Friedgen promoted Hamdan to quarterbacks coach for the 2010 Military Bowl (a win over East Carolina) after James Franklin left to take the head coaching job at Vanderbilt.
Hamdan began his coaching career as a student assistant at Colorado in 2009, where he worked with offensive coordinator Erik Kiesau, who went on to serve in the same role at Washington.
Hamdan played quarterback at Boise State, earning three varsity letters in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He won the Bronco Excellence Award following his senior season. His last three seasons, all played under Petersen, the Broncos posted a 35-4 overall record, including a perfect 13-0 mark and a win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in 2006. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Boise State in 2008 and received his master’s in athletic administration from Idaho State in 2009.
A standout high school quarterback and baseball player at Bishop O’Connell High in Arlington, Va., and a native of Gaithersburg, Md., he earned Washington D.C. all-metro honors. His brother, Gibran, played quarterback at Indiana and in the NFL. Gibran was drafted by the Redskins in 2003 and spent time on the active rosters at Washington, San Francisco and Seattle while also earning NFL Europe MVP in 2006 as a member of the Rhein Fire.
• 2017 – Atlanta Falcons – Quarterbacks
• 2016 – Washington – Wide Receivers/Pass Game Coordinator
• 2015 – Washington – Offensive Quality Control (promoted to WRs coach for bowl game)
• 2014 – Davidson – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• 2013 – Arkansas State – Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• 2012 – Florida – Wide Receivers
• 2011 – Sacramento State – Tight Ends
• 2010 – Maryland – Offensive Quality Control (promoted to QBs coach for bowl game)
• 2009 – Colorado – student assistant
