Careers in college football can be slow-paced, like a leisurely Sunday drive on a country road.

Or they can get adventurous in a big hurry.

Just ask Robin Ross, whose coaching career is finally moving forward again after a few long months as the former head honcho at Western Washington University.

In January, he went from a third-year coach with NCAA Division II national-title aspirations to a man not only without a team, but without many ideas on the best way to properly close a program that had been dumped by the administration after 98 seasons.

Ross, a veteran of the Pacific-10 Conference circuit earlier in his career, landed on his feet, albeit in a peculiar situation for a coach with his wealth of experience.

He was hired in June as an Oregon State graduate assistant, and now coaches tight ends.

The Beavers host Washington on Saturday at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore., in a late-season Pac-10 game.

“One thing about my (contract) settlement from Western, it allowed me to do this, and come back and take this GA job,” said the 54-year-old Ross, who is in his 33rd season of coaching. “That has worked out for me.”

Considering what happened Jan. 8 in Bellingham, Ross feels blessed to be able to coach again so soon.

That morning, he had a meeting scheduled with the Western administration to talk about football recruiting – or so he thought.

University president Bruce Shepard came in and announced to Ross, his staff and players that the program was being eliminated, effective immediately, because of budget cuts.

“From then on, it was crisis management,” Ross said.

Job offers immediately came Ross’ way after news broke, but the longtime coach decided it was his obligation to help place his players and coaches into other programs.

“It was a big transition period. It was not like everyone found jobs and new schools immediately,” he said. “It was a four-to-five-month process.”

Ross’ days were filled with making phone calls to other coaches, counseling players, even researching the history of defunct programs, and how many of them started back up.

By the end of the school year in June, 65 of his 85 players relocated to other schools.

Many transferred to rival Central Washington. A punter went to West Virginia. A linebacker went to Pittsburg State. A defensive lineman joined the team at Washington State.

Six of his eight assistants found other jobs in college. The other two hooked up with high school teams.

Finally, he tried thinking about his own future.

He could have taken a year off, lived off the settlement money and stayed in the house he’s owned in Bellingham for 15 years.

But, eventually, “you have to take your own advice a lot of the times.”

Tim Euhus, a former Oregon State tight end, left his graduate-assistant position at Oregon State. And coach Mike Riley, who had Ross on his staff in 2005 as a linebackers coach, phoned him to gauge his interest in joining the staff.

“I felt it was a perfect match,” Ross said. “A lot of win-win.”

Ross said he still talks to a number of Western boosters.

Many of them are making the trip to Corvallis on Saturday to root on the Beavers.

“We’re still dealing with the short-term effect of this,” Ross said. “But I really do believe football will come back. It’s a program that had been around for 100 years. From the feedback I get, there are a lot of people still interested in getting football back.

“It’s just unfortunate that all of this happened. It’s a tragedy.”

Extra points

Again, defensive tackle Cameron Elisara (neck stinger) and linebacker E.J. Savannah (broken left wrist) are likely out against Oregon State on Saturday. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt said Elisara’s neck and shoulder region are “not responding very well,” and the junior will miss his third consecutive game, replaced by De’Shon Matthews with Everrette Thompson rotating in. ... Free safety Jason Wells (right foot) also sat out of practice Tuesday, but coaches are hopeful he’ll start. Nathan Fellner took all the snaps with the No. 1 defense in his stead. ... Cornerback Matt Mosley has left the program. He is the third cornerback this season who is no longer with the team, along with junior-college transfers David Batts and Dominique Gaisie. ... On the Pac-10 coaches conference call, because the UW is an “aggressive recruiting staff,” coach Steve Sarkisian said he’d be in favor of an early-signing period for football. “We’re a little ways away,” Sarkisian said.

Todd Milles: 253-597-8442

todd.milles@thenewstribune.com