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WSU Football, Post Jim Sterk
Written by LucasCoug   
Tuesday, 16 February 2010 01:54


Let's take a look at the football program, with Jim Sterk in charge, and maybe what it will be like without him:

1) Coach Paul Wulff was hired in December 2007 by Jim Sterk.
2) Paul Wulff went 3 - 22 his first two seasons on the Palouse.  Whether or not this was his fault or his predecessor Bill Doba's fault is up for debate.
3) Jim Sterk left WSU on February 12th, 2010.
4) President Elson Floyd is said to not be a fan of Wulff's.  Sterk was going to stand by Wulff and the remaining year's on his contract.
5) A new Athletic Director, not named Bill Moos or John Johnson, will have zero loyalties to Wulff.  Moos and Johnson were members of the search committee who endorsed the hire of Wulff.

These are the facts.  Read on to see what the crystal ball has in store....



Like many of you, I received the email from the Office of President Floyd, indicating Senior Associate Athletic Director / Senior Woman Administrator Anne McCoy has agreed to serve as interim athletic director.  Also in the email was a note that a lot of emails have come his direction indicating a strong preference for the return of Bill Moos to a seat in Bohler Gym.  Here are some of the key details of the email:

In recent days I have received a number of messages from Cougar supporters indicating an interest in Bill Moos as a candidate for the athletic director position. In light of that sentiment, I have invited him to visit the Pullman campus on Wednesday, February 17. Bill is well known within the Cougar family and in athletic circles across the country. He will meet with the senior leadership of the athletic department Wednesday morning. He will then hold a series of meetings with coaches and athletic staff throughout the day and take part in a public forum with members of the university community from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Room T101 of the Food Sciences and Human Nutrition Building on the Pullman campus.

I believe it is important to bring Bill to campus to allow him to meet with members of the campus community to determine the mutual level of interest going forward.

I will continue to inform you of developments as they occur.

Thank you, and Go Cougs!

Sincerely,

Elson S. Floyd, Ph.D.

To me this screams WSU's number one choice is Bill Moos, which is excellent news for Wulff, as Moos is one of the individuals who recommended him for the post.  I would imagine the second choice would be John Johnson, who came to WSU in 2004, and was recently a finalist for the AD job at UNLV.

If neither of the two aforementioned men become the next AD for WSU, I think Wulff has less than 10 months from today on the job, and here is why: WSU will not win more than 4 games next year (Sidenote: I will take the over on whatever www.sportsbook.com offers as the total number of wins for 2010, just in case they get lucky.)  This number of wins will be unacceptable to any AD, not named Moos or Johnson, as they will want their own guy leading the program.  Whether or not that is fair isn't up to me, but here is my take as to why it would be bad.

In my mind, Wazzu is in the same boat as Arizona and Oregon State when it comes to building successful football programs.  We will never have the luster of recruiting 4 and 5 star talents like Oregon, UW, UCLA, USC, Cal and ASU.  So these three teams have to rely on 1, 2, 3 and the occasional 4 star prospect and go from there.  What the administration at Arizona and Oregon State has allowed Mike Stoops and Mike Riley to do is just that.  It may not have been sexy at the beginning, but those two coaches have recruited talented kids who have bought in to the programs, and left as 5 star talents (see Mike Haas and Rob Gronkowski).

It took these coaches many years to right the previous coach's wrongs.  Stoops didn't lead Arizona to a winning record and a bowl game until his fifth year on the job, while Riley needed three seasons (spread across two stints) to reach his first winning season and bowl game at Oregon State.
Being patient with a losing team sucks.  We all want to win, now.

Especially when the Huskies are winning.

But being patient did prove to work with Dick Bennett.
The best advice I have for whomever our new Athletic Director is, is to follow the advice of this guy.




Or at least if you don't believe me, listen to Jim Walden's take.

Cougs, we need to stay the course.

All for now.  GO COUGS!
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recruits
written by CWaldburger, February 16, 2010
Do you think a new AD (not named Moos or Johnson) would look at the pedigree and recruiting success of Wulff and give him a chance based on that alone? It says he can recruit and at least build a successful base. Maybe he gets another year or two to stock the cupboards and then canned for a coach who can come in and win right away?
...
written by LucasCoug, February 16, 2010
No. I think a new AD not named Johnson or Moos will probably only give Wulff one year.

Apologies about the formatting. I played with it for more than an hour last night and kept having issues.

Sorry guys.
Moos
written by SeanHawk, February 16, 2010
I agree to an extent with Lucas, that Wulff will be on much stronger ground with Moos, maybe with Johnson, vs. an unfamiliar presence. But I am not 100% sure that Wulff survives beyond next year, no matter who the AD is, if they don't show the improvement on the field like they are saying we will see! This was going to be true with Sterk, and it will be true with Moos, Johnson or whoever else is there. This season is make-or-break time, period. If it too closely resembles year one or year two, then that will be it. But if they are competitive and even win a few that nobody saw coming, they will stick it out.

The hardest thing is what to do after year three. Say they show improvement and all that good stuff. Can they afford to let Wulff go into year four without a contract extension in place? It really ties his hands in recruiting if he can't go into a living room and honestly say where he will be after the next year. And you better believe every coach he recruits against will be quick to mention that he is coming into his final guaranteed year. So if they do well next year, they MUST give him a contract extension. Otherwise he is getting set up to fail.

And on who this new AD will be? It has to be Moos, doesn't it? Who the heck makes a big to-do about bringing in an AD candidate, announcing to the world the schedule and what he'll be doing on his visit, and makes the candidate available to answer questions from the public? And don't forget how familiar Moos is with the inner workings of WSU. He's been around the program for a few years, and was even hired as an "advisor" last fall around the Phase III push. This is not your typical interview/candidate process!
Agree
written by WSU91, February 16, 2010
This is the year Wulff proves his worth, regardless of who the AD is.

If it's true that Moos is a high probability, I wonder what they will work out with Oregon and the non-compete clause in Moos' buyout with them. They enforced it when Moos was interviewing at UNLV, which caused him to walk away form that job.
Buyout
written by SeanHawk, February 16, 2010
I have a feeling that the buyout won't be that big of an issue at the end of the day. There are rumors that some big money types are ready to pitch in to make this happen. There are a LOT of people ready to welcome Moos with open arms, and I think Floyd's actions back that up completely. I mean think about it, how bad would it look if they did the song-and-dance of bringing in Moos to go through a public process, then to say "oh, it would have been nice but we don't have the money, so sorry."

And I can't completely verify this, but I thought the buyout was more of an issue with Moos deciding to leave the money at the table, in that Moos has the 1.4 million still coming from Oregon, but if he takes another job, he forfeits the money? But Oregon can't technically stop him from taking another job, just that Moos would leave a lot of money on the table if he did? Maybe I'm wrong and have been reading too many gossip/rumors, but I think that's the case. Maybe what will happen with the bigger money donors would be that they would pitch in to help ease Moos' pain in leaving 1.4 on the table with Oregon? Probably not going the full 1.4, but maybe meeting him halfway, plus giving him a nice salary at his alma mater, and that is just one hour from his cattle ranch at that? We'll see!

What I hope isn't happening here is that Moos is just being brought in to lead the search committee for the new AD. Although the statements from Floyd are pretty strong that they are talking about the AD job itself, not just leading a committee.
Buyout
written by WSU91, February 16, 2010
Sean,

I think you are right. I read that Moos decided against the UNLV job partly because he didn't want to leave 1.4MM (or more) on the table to take the job, and UNLV probably had no intention to give it to him. Technically, I think he can do what he wants, but will lose that Oregon money if he does, unless a compromise is reached. I guess my other point is that given how they handled the UNLV situation with Moos, it seems unlikely that Oregon will agree to any compromises.
Moos for AD
written by David B, February 16, 2010
I'm not sure Moos is the right guy for AD. Sure he did a lot @ Oregon, but remember he had a sugar daddy named Phil Knight. I'd rather see him lead the search for a new AD. There's no way WSU should make up the money he'd leave on the table from Oregon, and what would we have to pay him? Could he realisticly double the athletic department budget? That would be a tall order for just about anyone whether named Moos, Johnson, Smith, Jones or any other name. Not that I wouldn't like to see it. Without some super major donar(s) it's just a lot to expect. I think it's a done deal though just by the way it's being handled.
Wulf indeed has this year to prove himself regardless of who the new AD is. Four wins should buy him that last year on his contract, but as was mentioned, what happens after that? Five wins should get him an extension, which he will need to recruit. I personally think he can coach and recruit at the Pac-10 level. We don't all see what's happening in the locker and training rooms. Last year at this time there were 24 football players that couldn't participate in weight training because of injuries and recovering from surgery. This year there are 4 according to Wulf at the Little Creek Casino on 2/10.
I don't like being embarrassed as we have been the past two years, and I think we have some players who can make a difference. How much remains to be seen. As Wulf also mentioned at Little Creek, the moment we loose continuity and consistancy in recruiting, we head downhill with the program in a hurry. We've seen that and now the coaches are trying to rebuild the program. I'd like to see Wulf have the four to five years it may take to rebuild Cougar Football. We really won't know what he can do until it's done. We've made changes before and will do it again when it's necessary.
...
written by kaddy, February 16, 2010
Maybe they can spread the 1.4 for Moos over the next 5-10 years, so he would still get the money, just over time.

I think he is the right hire. He has the ability to schmooze with a farmer one day, and a corporate executive the next. We need that kind of person.

And count me in as someone who really thinks Wulff deserves year 4, unless we are as hopeless as last year, of course.
Non-compete clause
written by selahcoug, February 16, 2010
I asked Vince to find out what exactly this entails. He posted a link to a good article showing what it entails. It is like Sean said, more of a severence package than any buy out. If Moos really wants the job, he could just forfeit the money and take any job he wants.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sportslink/2010/feb/16/moos-taking-lead-wsu-ad-race/
Bill Moos/Phil Knight
written by Soze, February 16, 2010
Did Moos bring Phil Knight on board to donating? Seems like Nike U didn't always have the funding that it does now? Maybe Moos can finally reach Paul Allen and bum some spare change for the athletic program. Am I dreaming?
no compete
written by loser, February 16, 2010
The way I understood it he was interviewing for the UNLV job because they thought he might not have to forfeit the 200k/yr because it isn't a BCS program. When Oregon balked and the lawyers came out, he removed himself from the running.

With WSU there is no question it goes against the no compete deal. That they are still going forward with him says they are OK with dealing with the clause. It may not be a buyout, they may just pay him more than 200K and he's OK with it.
Coug football
written by DavidB, February 16, 2010
If you haven't listened to or didn't hear live, Coach Walden talk about Cougar Football last November, check out the link from LucasCoug above. Walden is absolutely bang on! Those of us old enough to remember the four years when Jim Sweeny left, Jackie Sherrill was there one year, Warren Powers was there one year, then Jim Walden. I can't think of a more down time in Cougar Football History. I for one don't want to have that situation again. Those who remember just the 3 ten win seasons, it'll be a few years before we get back there, but we will get back there. It may or may not be with Paul Wulf, but we will get back there. Our mantra used to be "wait 'till next year." It will get better. We have to have a base to work from though and as I said earlier, Wulf and the coaches are building the base.
Moos and Knight had issues
written by SeanHawk, February 16, 2010
Just heard Ken Goe of the Oregonian on KJR, and he made it clear that Bill Moos and Phil Knight had issues of not seeing eye-to-eye on a few things, from Moos showing slight interest in the UW ad job back in '04 to Moos and the way the track and field program was going. It sounds like Moos stood up to Knight and that didn't go over well with Sir Knight!

Goe did have good things to say about Moos, namely under his watch they made it a goal to catch and surpass UW in the NW. After the last 15 years, it isn't even an argument as to who has had the better run! I am liking Moos more by the moment.
Wulff in red
written by VikingCoug, February 16, 2010
Regardless of who becomes our new AD, this may be Wulff's last chance. To inspire any confidence in the fan base, he will need to win at least 4 wins. One of them must be the apple cup. If he does this, he will almost guarantee job security for now. if not, i can't see him coming back
Moos
written by David B, February 16, 2010
I knew Bill Moos when, and fortunately he grew up and became a responsible person. He's a Coug, he's been on staff before, he's had success as AD and moved up the ladder. I don't know all the particulars of his departure from Oregon, but it didn't sound like the most pleasent of partings. He's been around the program on and off, and might just be the best fit for at least a while. His style is different from Jim Sterk, and that may not be a bad thing. As to the football program, I think he'll give Wulf the time he believes he (Wulf) needs to build the program. I don't think he'd hesitate to pull the trigger to remove him if necessary either. I believe he'd be loyal to a fault, but that may not be a bad thing either just now. We need some continuity to our athletic program right now, and not just in football. Success will build success in all sports. There's no reason WSU can't be a powerhouse in the Pac-10, and be very competitive nationally. The bowl games in football and the big dance in men's and women's hoops are doable. We have coaches capable of those levels. Moos may be the "boss" they need.
...
written by kaddy, February 16, 2010
Sounds like Moos is in town tonight having dinner with some of the coaches...wonder where? I have a buddy that owns two restaurants...maybe they are at a private residence to avoid the looky-loos...
...
written by kaddy, February 16, 2010
Just confirmed - Floyd, Moos, and a few really big donors just walked into my buddy's restaurant - they are having some wine in the private room in back.
Moos
written by norcalcoug, February 16, 2010
I don't get it, how many people think WSU can find an extra $1.4mm sitting in a file cabinet somewhere. It's a lot of money for a program that has serious problems raising money. For Moos to come in as AD it's going to take some compromise on his part. And replacing Wulff? Just premature talk. If he shows progress this season, we must endure. There's not the money to hire some big name coach either.

And this talk about big donors? Who are they, why haven't they stepped up for Phase III? Honestly, we don't have any Phil Knights or Boone Pickens in our repertoire. I would love to be proven wrong on this, but I don't think there's a Daddy Big Bucks standing in the wings to help us out on this one.

I have no idea if Moos is worth the extra $1.4mm it would take to get him in. He could be great, I don't know. It's just a lot of money, and frankly our credit card is probably pretty maxed out.
Where does the coin come from?
written by BornCoug, February 16, 2010
More than likely donors were holding back because of the state of the football program. With Moos on board that will probably bring donors (w/ some being major donors) back on board.

Wulff has a tough job on his hands but I hope he can make things work. I really love his recruiting and hope another year in the weight room will keep more players on the field.
More on Moos...
written by Soze, February 16, 2010
Per WSUCougars.com, he raised the University of Oregon's budget from 18M to 41M during his time there. Maybe he can do the same with the Cougs? Of course, I'm assuming that wasn't just Phil Knight just more pumping money in...

As far as the Phil Knight's and the Boone Pickins'
of the world nocalcoug, I said it earlier: Paul F. Allen. I'm not saying its going to happen, but I think Moos has as good a shot as anyone to get him involved.
...
written by kaddy, February 16, 2010
There are donors that are willing to cover the 1.4, is my guess. I don't know that for sure. If that is true, and Bill Moos is that important to these people, then think of the possibilities in terms of fundraising that Moos can bring...
...
written by LucasCoug, February 16, 2010
Just because we don't have a Phil Knight or T Boone Pickens who can give $100M at the drop of the hat doesn't mean WSU Athletics is without major donors. All you would need to do is glance in the back of a Football Program.

Names you will see as big donors: Ryan Leaf, Craig Angelo, Craig Shriner.

We don't need to cut Oregon a $1.4M check as a buyout. $1.4M is simply the remaining sum Moos is owed if he remains unemployed; about $200,000-$300,000 each year plus interest.

If he takes a job, he forgoes that payout.
Resteraunts
written by Chris '04, February 16, 2010
Kaddy, I hope its not Fireside Grill. One visit to that place and he'll never want to step foot in Pullman again.
...
written by kaddy, February 16, 2010
No, it's not Fireside, but I hope you're kidding. Fireside is one of the nicer places in town.
...
written by Stephen '09, February 16, 2010
Fireside changed chefs or something a couple years ago and their steaks went from soggy pieces of rat meat to decent.
...
written by Chris '04, February 16, 2010
I've been to Fireside 3 times and left terribly disappointing every time. Check out the ratings on any one of the travel sites, they've been torn to shreds. They run a terrible establishment and should be shut down.
...
written by LucasCoug, February 16, 2010
What do you guys think of Banyan's at Palouse Ridge? I've eaten their twice,both on guys weekends, so I've been slightly intoxicated. For the price, I have always found it to be pretty decent.
Paul Wulff
written by B-Smooth, February 16, 2010
I promise, if Paul Wulff doesnt get 2 more years to show what he is capable of I will NEVER cheer for WSU in any sports ever again. Its hard enough as is but we finally have a good coach on board that can recruit like crazy with what he has to work with. Give the guy a chance.
...
written by kaddy, February 16, 2010
Yes, I'm sure they are very successful because they run a terrible establishment.
...
written by Chris '04, February 17, 2010
Kaddy, do you live in Pullman? Just curious, because anyone I've ever talked to under the age of 40 thinks Fireside is an atrocious restaurant. Maybe they've changed their ways over the past couple years, but I refuse to give my money to a business that sucked THREE times in a row. Not to mention the fact that they aren't doing as well as you might expect. Sorry to offend if that happens to be one of the two restaurants your friend owns (it likely is, and the other is Banyans which I've heard great things about) but don't think that just b/c you got "best-buddy" service that everyone else gets the same.
Thank you B-Smooth
written by Evercoug, February 17, 2010
Exactly my sentiments. In the team with the least money and smallest recruiting base in the Pac-10, Wulff is to somehow turn the sh*t sandwich he inherited into a powerhouse in just 2 years. Kind of unfair.
I loved hearing Walden's comments, Lucas. Thanks for posting. Puts things in perspective. I was at WSU '89-'92, and remember that it took Mike Price 4 years to get to a bowl (and he inherited a much stronger team than did Wulff). Wulff needs at least this year and next to "prove" if he's the right or wrong guy for the job.
Fireside and football
written by DavidB, February 17, 2010
This thread has taken some real interesting twists since I last saw it. (lol) Fireside runs hot and cold for me. My wife likes it though. Banyans is owned by the same people and the one time we ate there it was good. Someone with resturant expertise should buy Pete's and re-open it. As to Wulf and football and Moos, don't hold your breath for a sugar daddy for WSU. Yes there are well healed Cougs out there, and many of them already give good sums of money to the athletic department and the university as a whole. Paul Allen may or may not be a source. If it is to be, ALL OF US will need to step up. My wife and I are President's Associates by choice, and last year we doubled our pledge to the athletic department. Just a question, How many here are donors, and are you willing to step up and increase your contribution to WSU? I for one am tired of hearing we have the smallest athletic budget in the Pac-10, and I'm trying to do my part to help. Let's all show our support for our Cougs and make or increase our contributions. Then while we're at it, as most of the bloggers here seem to feel, get behind Paul Wulf and make sure he has the fan base support. We are also season ticket holders and travel 7 hours to Pullman for football games. This past two year it has been tough to see less than half filled stands at kick-off and in some cases less than 3000 left at the end of a game. The team is busting their butt trying and even though it doesn't show in wins and losses, they are still trying hard. I've not seen them quit in any game yet...even when they are getting blown out. Our day will come
...
written by LucasCoug, February 17, 2010
I will double my pledge smilies/smiley.gif
Pledges
written by DavidB, February 17, 2010
Thank you Lucas! Who else wants to join us?
Money
written by Chris '04, February 17, 2010
If I had any, it would be going to Cougar Football! But unfortunately for me, paying my mortgage takes precedent. Sorry, Cougs smilies/cry.gif
...
written by WSU91, February 17, 2010
I will double my 2009 pledge as well - but let's not allow this push to have unintended side effects, as many folks, such as Chris '04 are rightly placing their money were it needs to go first. We all have to make our own decisions about where our money needs to go. Especially when a lot of folks might not have as much right now as they did even one year ago.
Speaking of Pete's
written by WSU91, February 17, 2010
I met my wife at the Cavern on Reggae night, which is now Valhalla. Anyone remember Reggae night and the Cavern?

I had no idea Pete's was not there anymore. Things change...
Pledges
written by DavidB, February 17, 2010
No one should over extend themselves for this, but if someone has some EXTRA funds or the ability to step-up, then show Cougar Pride and do what you can. Thanks WSU91.BTW, Pete's shut down for good in the fall of '09. Most of the staff went to the Fireside.
...
written by kaddy, February 17, 2010
My friend and his partner own Fireside and Banyan's. My friend runs Banyan's, personally. I'll ask him how well Fireside is doing, but I'm pretty sure about my previous statement.

I increased my donations x5 in 2009, and I was President's Associate before that. I'm hoping to match that donation this year. I have 2 football season tickets, and signed up for a Club Seat.

Chris - I've offered before, but if buying tickets to a football game is an issue, tell me what game you want to attend, and I'll give you mine. I can't make every game, as I live in Vancouver.
Pledges
written by DavidB, February 17, 2010
I like the direction this is going! Thanks kaddy! It all helps. Whoever (read Bill Moos)is selected as AD, will appreciate the increase in giving. Ask friends who are Cougs if they are members of the athletic foundation. $100.00 a year is all it would take, and if enough people sign up, good things can happen.
In April, Coach Walden has pledged $0.20 for every dollar pledged to a new weight room. Another step in recruiting. If any of you have seen some of the training facilities we are competing against just in the Pac-10, you would understand why we aren't always able to land recruits.
Restaurants...
written by Soze, February 17, 2010
I'll solve this problem. Go to Sangria in Moscow. My buddy owns that one...
Hey Lucas
written by norcalcoug, February 17, 2010
Just don't want you guys to think I've not looked at the donors list. I look there every year to make sure they put my name on it.

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