Coachwatch – Resolved (Whew!)

by Eric Huseby, ABC 7 News Director

December 11, 2007

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Mike Price stays at UTEP.

Paul Wulff is going Washington State.

That’s great news for both schools. As detailed in my previous post, Wulff is a coach worth rooting for, having shown enormous character overcoming heartbreaking adversity in his 40 years. He has also proven himself a pretty fair football coach too at Eastern Washington, coming within an eyelash (38-35) of taking down perennial 1-AA champ Appalachian State in the small school playoffs this year. He has longstanding relationships with high school coaches all over the state of Washington, and he’s already part of the Cougar family, having played there under Price and others in the 1980s. Great for them!

The hire is great for UTEP too. In the wake of back-to-back sub-.500 seasons, Washington State was the only school on the horizon that might take a serious look at Mike Price. He’ll be another year older when the coaching carousel starts spinning again next year, and less and less likely to get an invitation to fix a struggling program in a power conference with each passing year.

The Miners are going to be better next year. Price and defensive coordinator Tim Hundley didn’t suddenly become dunces. The naysayers calling for a change, and wondering why UTEP hasn’t become Boise State yet forget that program spent a decade in ascendency under three coaches before their Fiesta Bowl flourish to cap off last season. The Miners had injuries on defense in 2007, and didn’t have the depth to adequately patch the holes. The usual contenders for national championships stand a chance of weathering the loss of both starting cornerbacks. For all the rest, that’s usually going to spell a long season.

They’ll bounce back. One thing Price excels at is using the offseason to shore up weaknesses. Just remember 2006, when the offensive line had key injuries and appeared unable to block the Hornedo pass rush. Fast forward to 2007, and the offense hit on all cylinders. Trevor Vittatoe had the time he needed to make good decisions, and the points came in bunches.

The Miners are at a crossroads. They can’t afford to lose key members of another recruiting class at the last minute. Price has upgraded the quality of UTEP’s recruits. Reestablishing momentum there will be critical. The perception that Price is truly here for the long haul won’t hurt.

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