"Big fan" Wulff is facing rough transition at WSU

When I caught up with Washington State president Elson Floyd the other day, he was between research updates and fundraising functions, the usual stuff of WSU's annual weeklong encampment on the west side.

"The game is somewhat incidental," Floyd said, while listing a variety of institutional benefits. "We will definitely continue it on my watch."

Incidental probably wouldn't be Paul Wulff's adjective, not with butterflies doing a tango in his gut this morning.

Maybe 55,000 WSU fans are expected to invade Qwest Field today for the season opener, and they need to know this: No matter how much they might feel they ooze crimson, they're likely just impostors compared to Wulff, an alum from a generation ago.

"I really feel like a fan," said WSU's first-year coach. "I'm a big fan, not only a coach. I want to see Washington State win every game like every fan does. I have that kind of passion and fire about every game.

"There's no one out there that wants to have more success for Washington State football than me. There just isn't."

The game matches two of big-time football's 18 alumni coaches, and interestingly, they were players simultaneously in the late 1980s. The difference is, Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State has a three-year head start on all the trappings of coaching — culture, system and recruiting.

In fact, it's quite possible Wulff is more invested in this than most of his players, and it has nothing to do with making six figures.

Asked if his players understand his passion, Wulff said, "It's going to take time. We're asking these kids to do a lot of things they've never done. We have new freshmen, and those guys are gonna pick things up probably a little quicker than any veteran player.

"They don't know any better."

Ah, nothing like openers, especially when they're against big-boy football teams, not Southeast Central Louisiana State. Up to now, everybody has a quarterback and a middle linebacker and a safety, and they're mere ciphers, until we see who can play and who can't.

In the case of WSU, the mystery is deepened by the transition from Bill Doba to Wulff. Doba didn't leave a bare cupboard, but the Cougars are clearly a few ingredients shy of a cake.

It's not easy telling whether this coaching transition is more wrenching than usual, but it might be. Wulff has had to deal not only with off-the-field issues, but also the psyche and work habits of a program that went from 30 victories in three years to bowl-less during the past four.

Co-defensive coordinator Chris Ball is doing his third tour with WSU, so he knows the territory. He was a grad assistant at the start of the Mike Price regime — when Wulff was a center — and he was back from 2000 to 2002. I asked whether he envisioned a long run-up back to glory days.

"I really don't know," he said. "Depends on how quickly everybody buys in, who's on board. If most of them are on the boat and it keeps moving in the right direction, it shouldn't take too long."

There are positives in the tea leaves, if not the depth chart. WSU has a gifted fifth-year senior quarterback, Gary Rogers, and that's a description that worked for the last two Cougars who waited four years for a chance to start under center.

Five years ago, Matt Kegel, taking over for Jason Gesser, quarterbacked a 10-3 WSU team. In 1993, Mike Pattinson, who had waited out the Drew Bledsoe era, had the Cougars at 5-2 and threw for 400 yards passing against Arizona State before a broken collarbone shut him down.

Meanwhile, winning first games is customary for WSU coaches, with a caveat. Doba won his first, against Idaho. Before him, Price scored as well, against Idaho.

In fact, you've got to go back through Dennis Erickson, Jim Walden and Warren Powers (his opener was a magical upset at Nebraska) all the way to the lamentable Jackie Sherrill in 1976 to find a Cougars coach who lost his first game.

How equipped Wulff's team is to continue tradition is a secret that he and his staff have divulged only by innuendo. While stressing the need to change the culture, they've curbed any inclination to lambaste the roster, probably: A. in deference to the respected Doba; and B. because "encouragement" is one of the core values Wulff has implemented.

Today, Wulff hopes he'll have a lot of positive to accentuate. If not, he'll be like any other WSU fan, wondering: Where's Idaho when you need 'em?

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com