Wulff's status a trial for Cougars

Had the typing fingers hovering over the keyboard all day Monday in preparation to write commentary on any word from Pullman on the fate of football coach Paul Wulff.

But nothing seeped out and athletic director Bill Moos predicted the arrival time for a decision as this morning.

So, absent concrete news, here’s a curious question that remains fair to analyze: At how many universities in the country – in an automatic-qualifying conference – would there be so much as a moment’s debate on the future of a head football coach with a 9-40 record, who never won more than four games in a season?

That’s probably a null set. Does that show admirable patience or a losing mentality?

Consider it a testament to what Wulff has accomplished in other regards that Moos didn’t pink-slip him immediately after Saturday’s loss to Washington.

While it says something about Wulff, it makes a simultaneous statement about WSU. Winning nine games in four seasons is nobody’s idea of success, but there’s obviously serious consideration given to whether there’s been enough progress to realistically envision future success if the staff is allowed to continue.

Four years is a full generation in college football. And this is a notoriously cold-blooded industry, so Wulff’s getting a fifth year would be a rare vote of confidence.

Some names familiar to regional football fans – Rick Neuheisel at UCLA and Dennis Erickson at Arizona State – walked the plank with far better performances in the same conference.

Neuheisel even has his team playing in the Pacific-12 Conference title game as winner of the South Division, also known this season as The Cheaters and the Other Five.

But Washington State has a different set of rules and circumstances. And that’s also good and bad.

In terms of resources, in most cases, WSU is the runt of the Pac-12 litter. Simple math.

And so the Cougars often face a pattern with coaches. They either have to fire them because they’re no good or they end up replacing them quickly because they’ve had success and moved on.

Unless there is baggage, they can’t hire a sure-thing coach because they can’t pay enough. But when you reach for an up-and-comer, you turn into a springboard or you might just be looking at a coach with a 9-40 record after four seasons.

What would be gained by giving Wulff another season? Continuity of a staff has value if there is promise of improvement. It wasn’t bad to this degree, but Mike Price was 13-20 in his first three years and gave no hint of building the program to double-Rose Bowl appearance level.

But he had them at 9-3 and in a bowl game in his fourth season. Patience paid off handsomely with Price.

To be lost? Well, tacking on an extra year for Wulff would give off the odor of lame-duckism that is always a killer for recruiting. And so often you just get more of the same, or worse, as witnessed by Tyrone Willingham’s fourth-year 0-12 debacle.

Circumstances were dire when Wulff took over a program deficient in talent and so bad in the classroom that scholarships were docked.

Wulff spoke at a Cougars luncheon in Spokane on Monday and pointed out that he was asked to build the program in so many aspects, including academically. “It wasn’t a typical rebuilding project,” he said.

Wulff and the Cougars appeared to be trending upward early in the season but injuries played a role in their decline. There is an infusion of young talent on this team.

Moos has said that he’s looking to energize the Cougar fan base. Can’t say that it seems particularly energized at the moment. I might have missed it, but I didn’t see any signs or banners at the Apple Cup on Saturday voicing support to keep Wulff as coach.

But energy is created by wins. And they’ve been in short supply.

Part of the delay might be Moos’ assessment of the market, and seeing what he can get to match the Cougars’ budget. Wulff’s $600,000 salary is less than Washington defensive coordinator Nick Holt makes while directing one of the statistically worst defenses in the country.

All that contributes to bigger questions about the role of intercollegiate athletics within a university’s construct as a medium for higher education, and the value of athletic success to the university, to the alumni, the students and the taxpayers.

It’s never easy at WSU. The questions are harder, and perhaps it’s not surprising they take a little longer.

Dave Boling: 253-597-8440 dave.boling@thenewstribune.com