At the University of Washington, Petersen led the Huskies to the College Football Playoff in 2016, but fell to Alabama in the Peach Bowl.

After graduation in 1983, he played quarterback for the Sacramento City College Panthers for two seasons, then transferred to non-scholarship UC Davis,[1] then in Division II.

He moved back west in 1993 to coach the quarterbacks at Portland State under Tim Walsh; the Vikings advanced to the Division II playoffs in both 1993 and 1994.

In January 2001, Petersen was hired as the offensive coordinator at Boise State by newly-promoted head coach Dan Hawkins.

"[5] Petersen had served as offensive coordinator at Boise State for five seasons and was twice nominated for the Broyles Award, given to the nation's best assistant coach.

In his first year as head coach, Petersen led the Broncos to an undefeated regular season in 2006 and the program's first ever BCS bowl game berth.

Petersen drew particular attention for his bold play calling after the Broncos, who were leading most of the game, trailed the Sooners by a touchdown late in the contest.

Petersen then decided to forgo an extra point kick and go for the victory with a two-point conversion attempt, calling a successful "Statue of Liberty" misdirection play for a 43-42 win.

After leading Boise State to another undefeated regular season in 2009, Petersen was rewarded with a new five-year contract extension on January 1, 2010.

[13] The 2016 Huskies had one of the best seasons in Washington history, winning the Pac-12 championship and earning a berth to the program's first-ever College Football Playoff.

7 Washington State in the Apple Cup, marking the Huskies' sixth straight rivalry win over the Cougars under Petersen.

On December 2, Petersen announced he would step down as Washington's head coach at the end of the season and assume a leadership advisory role with the athletics program.

[16] His father, Ron Petersen, is a Seattle native who grew up watching University of Washington football games on television as a boy.