I Believe In Paul Wulff
by Jeff Nusser on Sep 4, 2010 11:50 AM PDT
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PrintI had intended to write a fairly lengthy manifesto on this to publish yesterday, but the circumstances of my life -- beginning of school, part-time job, writing for CougCenter and SB Nation Seattle -- all conspired against me. But I wanted to get this on the record before today's game kicks off.
I believe in Paul Wulff.
If you've been around CougCenter since last season, that statement probably seems odd to you, seeing as how I didn't exactly provide a ringing endorsement when evaluating whether he should keep his job. But as the emotion of the end of last season has faded, I've realized some things.
I love his conviction. I love his brutal honesty. I love his transparency.
I love the way he and his coaching staff have recruited.
I love that he hasn't wavered one bit in his belief in the plan despite the constant criticism.
I love the fact that he hasn't appeared to let the criticism bother him personally, even though it probably does.
Regardless of how today's game turns out -- and it will probably be a two-touchdown (or more) loss -- I believe in Paul Wulff. This program is headed in the right direction, and a foundation is being laid for future success. One third of the players traveling to today's game have never played at the FBS level. Most of those guys will see action today.
Yes, the last two years have sucked. And he wasn't perfect. But I believe in his process. And I believe he's learned enough over the past two years that he's going to mature right along with his talent. And that's why I believe big things are ahead.
Eventually.
Despite the optimism around the team that comes with the opening of the season -- we were all pretty delusional two years ago, too -- I still think this is a one-win team. And even if it is, you will not hear me call for Paul Wulff's job at the end of this season.
I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Paul Wulff is the right man for this job. And if you don't, that's fine. Unlike a certain radio commentator and former coach, I'm not going to tell you what you should think, or that you're a bad fan if you don't think like me.
But Paul Wulff is my guy.
Paul Wulff is my coach.
And I believe in him -- and this team -- regardless of what happens today.
If that's not you right now, don't worry. There will be plenty of room on the train for you to climb on when this team makes a quantum leap forward next year.
Go Cougs.
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I believe in him also
I agree 100% with everything written, but ask me at the end of the season if I still feel this way.
If we have to ask you at the end of the season how you feel
then you don’t really agree 100% with what he is saying.
by Kyle Rancourt on Sep 4, 2010 1:26 PM PDT up reply actions
I've said from the beginning that year 3
would be the year I judge Wulff. We have got to see progress on the field this year or he and his staff have to go IMO.
I suppose I should have said
significant progress. We need to look like a legitimate Pac10 team.
RE: cougfan45
I agree, it is time to clean house. All there is to it. He wasn’t suited for the job to begin with. There is a world of diffrence between Division I and Division II, and the should have never brought in a D-II coach to a PAC 10 school. Fielding a team this uncompetitive is a humiliation to the university, fans, alumni, etc. Last night showed that this team is no closer to be competitive than the first game in 2008. Time for the fan base to demand a change.
Jim Tressell, national championship coach at Ohio State, also came from that level
And it’s Division I-AA/FCS. Not Division II. Your arguments are tired and worn out. How about focusing on what this team can do to be successful going forward? Because they most certainly are not going to fire the coach right now.
Mike Price came from Weber State
Jim Sweeney came from Montana State
How weird! Both play in the same conference as Eastern Washington.
I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh
Right there with you Nuss.
I’ve been lucky enough to get to talk to Coach Wulff after the coaches show a few times. Face to face there is no wavering or backpedaling on what he has said. He honestly, truly, believes hard in what he has done and is doing and I can’t wait to see what this has all built up towards as we move into the future. This year will be rough, although I’ve got at least 4 wins I’m picking, but we’ll all be feeling pretty damn good come next year. The turnaround is underway today.
Wulff might say all the right things
and have the right attitude, but his team has looked ill prepared.
Yes, a lot of that is youth and injury and that’s not Wulff’s fault- but I just find it very difficult to look at the results and decisions made on the field/in-game and come away with much confidence. Before I get gung-ho about a guy who even the optimists think will have a 1 win season, I need more than just a nice attitude.
I want to see a team that looks prepared to play. That while it might be physically overmatched, makes good decisions. I want to see good playcalling.
I don’t think we saw those things last year. Yes, he was in a terrible situation not of his own making, but the things we can see, that we can measure in terms of coaching, they weren’t there in my opinion.
Those are the things that will make me think we’ve got the right guy at the helm.
twitter.com/b_dids Here, I am batman.
I believe in Paul Wulff
I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh
So not with you.
But to be fair, I’ve seen one half of the season already.
But honestly, do you really think Tyrone Willingham would have done worse with this job than Paul Wulff?
Yikes
I admire your convictions, but you wrote this four hours too early.
This team is terrible.
I think Paul Wulff is a great Coug and a good man
I think he is and should continue to be a valuable contributor to the program.
I hope I this won’t be seen as flame-baiting because it’s not and I’m not a snarling, angry keyboard jockey, but CPW may be done before the year is out. If I’m Moos, and we start Pac-10 play with only one win, and we don’t win through October… or even if we manage to eek one out over ASU… that’s the decision point.
The only thing stopping a coaching change at that point would be the lack of a viable candidate. I have no idea who it should be.
CPW could stay on as AC or recruiting coordinator or something. He gets everything about WSU except how to win here.
What complexities do you think I am overlooking?
Unless you’re saying that everything we hear from CPW and the program is just PR grandstanding, even the coaches felt that the team was dialed in to where they wanted they to be. CPW said the players were doing everything we expected of them and almost all of the players getting a lot of time are CPW’s guys. The scuttlebutt around the program is that the players are all “buy-ins” when it comes to CPW’s system.
Maybe the kids are still too young, they’re aren’t a lot of seniors, but that does not excuse allowing these kind of point totals from opponents… three years in a row. Sophomores and juniors should be competitive if not winning.
And that points to the root of the problem. The guys are cracking heads and working hard. There’s no lack of heart that I can see… the problem that I see is that CPW still does not have a gauge for this level of play. The play calling improved this year, but, if anything he has said publicly is to be believed, he did not anticipate that the team was at the level it actually is. If this coach is satisfied with this team in fall camp, then he’s not the guy.
There are many complexities that go into that end result, but the end result is what it is. That said, if you have more than a one-line criticism, I am totally open to changing my mind. I’ve been going to Cougar games for over 25 years and CPW as a success would be just awesome to see.
There is absolutely zero indication that Moos would make a change midway through the season
Football programs almost never do it because it accomplishes next-to-nothing. Unless you’ve got another coach lined up, all it does is throw recruiting into disarray and stunt the development of the current players. Even if Bill Moos makes up his mind during the season, you won’t see a change until the end.
And I would caution you, like everyone else, to not overreact to one game. I know it feels like you’re reacting to 26 games, but this is a different team. It’s one game.
It takes seniors friends.
Whether anyone wants to admit it or not- it takes quality seniors to win in the NCAA. We have had less than 6 quality seniors in each of Wulff’s first 3 seasons. During today’s debacle at one point there were ALL freshmen at LB and DB— the annoncers mentioned that every previous WSU coach has had a minimum 14-16 NFL caliber guys on the roster they inherited. Wulff has had 3 in 2 years. We simply must take out lumps. The staff and alum and fans got drunk on the victories- no one minded the store and they were mostly out of stock on any quality guys for 3 seasons… it will take the ‘09/10/11 sets to replace that train wreck. Then we need them to mature. They are better, clearly— but remain outmanned up front in 2010. But there aren’t very many Hunters out there thankfully—
Dunn and Galvin- 2 promising frosh gone already… long season coming. But I still think they will win 3 games.
If you can't Go Cougs... don't go.
I know, I know
I just thought we were done with letting opponents score 60+ points. Even when Stanford was terrible (not that long ago) they were losing games by 20 and 30, not 48. I am tired of losing, but I am REALLY tired of getting stomped. I was hoping to graduate from “terrible” to just “bad.” I can’t handle another terrible year.
First games are funny things.
As we learned from the last two years, you can only draw so many solid conclusions from them.
Thanks John
I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh
I believe WSU should have scheduled New Mexico
and Oregon should have scheduled Oklahoma St.
All four teams and all four fan bases would have been better served.
Andy Wooldridge, andy_wooldridge@yahoo.com
BuildingTheDam.Com
Go Beavs!
Truer words never spoken
They would have beaten New Mexico.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Sep 5, 2010 6:07 PM PDT up reply actions
you still feel this way?
I have a feeling you’re going to look back at this post at the end of the season and wish you could enter a time-machine and erase it from ever happening.
Maybe this game was an aberration and the Cougs will look a lot better over the course of the season. And maybe you’re right that Wulff is doing the right things to bring this program back. Maybe he really did take over one of the worst situations ever at a BCS program (which would have to be true to explain the results of the last 3 seasons and still back Wulff). Maybe next year the team will make a quantum leap forward.
But at some point the blowout losses where the team looks hopeless will become too much for fans, and perhaps players too. At what point does Wulff lose so much belief in the fanbase and in his locker room that change has to happen whether it’s justified or not. Maybe Robb Akey wouldn’t do any better of a job given the situation than Wulff, but too many more games like this and it won’t matter – you have to give someone else a shot.
I dunno Jeff
At some point, if the blowout losses continue this season, you should re-evaluate. I know as fans we shouldn’t over react to one game (I obviously have my own Husky-related reasons to believe that), but even so, a blowout loss to a rebuilding Oklahoma St team has to be a red flag.
At some point you may have to step back and think about whether you are falling in to the fan version of Stockholm Syndrome.
Six months ago I didn't feel this way
I’ve hardly been leading the Paul Wulff bandwagon, which you should know since you’ve been around here plenty.
well...
…I guess I’m struck by how low your bar is set for this season. One win and you’d be OK with things? Has there ever been a coach that’s ended up doing much of anything that’s started off his career going 2-11, 1-11, 1-11?
kirkd
Nuss isn’t exactly following blindly. Read his posts over the last 3 weeks at the very least … if you have time, look at his posts over the last three months. Otherwise, shut up and watch the Huskies.
I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh
Take it easy
He’s just having a hard time understanding the logic, which is quite different from how a Husky would think. What we’re going through is completely unlike anything UW has ever had to go through. It’s virtually impossible for that program to get this low. Even when they were 0-12, there was talent — and they can restock it faster, too.
It's all relative, man
The program simply needs to keep improving. As we have mentioned ad nauseam around here, wins and losses probably aren’t the best way to measure improvement for this team. When you’re so far behind everyone else from the previous season, you can improve substantially and still not win many games.
Look, nobody’s “OK” with one win. But the reality of the situation demands an even-handed analysis of what would be considered success this year. We’d like to win 10 games, but firing Wulff because he didn’t win 10 games this year is stupid, right? If that’s logical, then the same logic has to apply to any other arbitrary number of wins.
The talent is still being rebuilt. Could any other coaching staff win more games with this group than this coaching staff? If we get to the end of the year and the answer is clearly yes, then I’ll change my mind. But I haven’t felt that way the past two years, and I don’t think that will be the case now, either. The goal is to be a consistent winner, and while Wulff could have plugged holes with JC guys and character questions in order to gain a few cheap wins along the way, he didn’t. That creates growing pains.
Paul Wulff has done everything that could possibly be asked of him as a head coach except win games. We can argue forever about why that is, but by the one measure that is indisputable — NFL talent — Wulff has had substantially less to work with than any other WSU coach before him and any other current coach in the Pac-10. If you believe that those other things that Wulff is doing are what eventually lead to wins on Saturday, as I do, then the best thing to do is stay the course.
Unless I really don’t see the things this year that I’m anticipating seeing, next year will be the year when I judge whether he truly has the chops to make it at this level.
what we should all consider
Could any other coaching staff win more games with this group than this coaching staff?
That’s the question that really needs to be looked at, and it’s a very difficult question to answer. A lack of talent/experience can often times look like a lack of preparation/coaching, and vice versa. Let’s just hope things look better going forward.
this is the key part
Could any other coaching staff win more games with this group than this coaching staff? If we get to the end of the year and the answer is clearly yes, then I’ll change my mind. But I haven’t felt that way the past two years, and I don’t think that will be the case now, either.
This is where I’d say be sure you’re not falling into Stockholm Syndrome. It is understandable to look at results as they happen and justify them by saying that they were inevitable, that nobody else could have done better.
You guys are much more in tune with everything going on in the program, and if you really think the situation was that gawdawful, then I defer to you. I’m just saying, as an outside observer that perhaps has a perhaps much less invested in your program and perhaps, in certain ways, a little more perspective, that I’m a bit skeptical that you could say that most coaches wouldn’t do any better than Wulff given the situation.
I agree that strictly looking at wins and losses is only part of the picture. But after 3 years, to have a bar of 1 win over and FCS team and a minimum of blowout losses is shockingly low.
And even if Wulff is doing about as well as can be expected, I still think that three years of double-digit losses will have a real toll on team morale, and bringing in a new coach and staff could provide the “shiny new toy” boost to the foundation-building that has been happening to boost the team forward in 2011, more so than if Wulff were to return.
I do agree with your final paragraph
And I think this team is dangerously close to that. So far, they’ve certainly bought in. But quotes like this scare me:
“We were in the game and then they made a big play, then they made another big play and then we kind of, I don’t want to say give up, but it’s like a snowball effect,” senior defensive end Kevin Kooyman said. “It’s frustrating to see all the hard work we had put in, all the confidence we had, and it got stripped away from us real fast.”
They just can’t have too many days like Saturday for that reason alone. I do believe Wulff is the right guy. But I do worry a bit that the situation might get poisoned to the point where his ability to see it through is compromised.
I didn’t expect WSU to win yesterday but I expected them to at least make the step of being able to keep it respectable. I understand the talent deficit but this does not looked like a very organized squad.
It is a long season so lets see what happens next week.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Sep 5, 2010 6:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Beat Syracuse
I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh
You're right to believe
And today, for the first time I think, I saw flashes of how this offensive system could be successful with players of a satisfactory talent level. For the last two years, they looked hopeless trying to execute ths offense. That simply wasn’t the case tonight (even if the results were meh). Jeff Tuel had time to throw. Really, he did. He used it to hit receivers who created space.
It seems clear to me (admittedly from afar) that these young men have bought into the system. They believe in their coach, and they believe in one another. And that’s an admirable achievement considering the general state of this program. The talent gap is closing—it’s plain as day.
The valid criticism is on the defensive side of the ball. I no longer believe that the talent gap accounts entirely for the giant, gaping chasms for running lanes. The linebackers didn’t show up today—but is it really because they were dominated by Oklahoma State’s downhill blocking? Or was it because they weren’t properly disposed? I can’t say definitively, but I’m worried its the latter.
I’m still with Coach Wulff. Lord help me
As just another Cougar Alum,
I just want to be able to come out of the losses with my head held high. I hardly think I have high expectations, since becoming a Coug as of 2005. We can argue players and stats all day long. But at the end of the day, did we put up a fight?
There is no more “Blame Doba.” Its year three. It’s your team, Coach. We’re behind you.
Just for thought!
Is it really fair to the players to be losing at this level, by this much? Is it their fault or the coaching staffs fault? I believe that the players where sold a promise and if Wulff cannot deliver on that promise then just like any other job he is not performing to expectations. Hate to say it but I feel he has to win 50% of his games this year to justify his position as head coach, if not then he is letting this team and fans down.
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