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Wednesday, December 18
Updated: December 20, 4:08 PM ET
 
Doba replaces Price at Washington State

Associated Press

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State wasted little time picking a successor to Alabama-bound Mike Price, naming longtime assistant Bill Doba as head coach of the No. 7 Cougars on Wednesday.

"We didn't have to go farther than across the street from Mike Price's house,'' WSU athletic director Jim Sterk said. Doba, 62, has been defensive coordinator since 1994, was among the first assistants Price hired when he arrived at WSU in 1989.

"This is the dream of a lifetime,'' said Doba, who admitted he had given up hope that he would ever be a college head coach. "I want to maintain and improve the status coach Price brought this program to.''

"I think it's every coach's dream to be able to walk into a kid's home and offer a scholarship,'' Doba added.

Sterk said he hoped to complete contract negotiations with Doba within the next week. Price made a base salary of $600,000 a year in a rollover contract that will pay him an additional $300,000 this season with incentives.

Doba's selection was well-received by Cougars players and fans still smarting from Price's departure, made public less than 24 hours earlier. Price's resignation is effective Jan. 1, meaning he will coach the Cougars (10-2) in the Rose Bowl Game presented by PlayStation2 against No. 8 Oklahoma.

"It's a good fit,'' linebacker Mawuli Davis said. "Bill Doba gets the opportunity and the experience to be a head coach. He's an excellent guy.''

Sterk said Doba was "the first person I thought of'' when Price told him Tuesday he would be leaving for Alabama. WSU President V. Lane Rawlins said it "took me about a minute-and-a-half'' to endorse the selection.

"He understands the game of football and will continue what will become a winning tradition,'' Rawlins said. "I never thought I'd say that about Cougar football.''

Doba said offensive coordinator Mike Levenseller will remain at Washington State. He said he will talk with other assistants.

Doba helped develop All-American defensive tackle Rien Long, who won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman.

Long said he's "leaning'' toward returning for his senior season under a new head coach. The mainstay of the Cougars' stingy defense, he was recruited by Doba.

"He's the one that got me here. He's the one who made me fall in love with this place,'' Long said. "Coach Doba's going to be a big part of my decision.''

Senior quarterback Jason Gesser said players were still in shock Wednesday after the hastily called team meeting Tuesday where Price announced his decision to leave.

"It's a lifetime opportunity you can't pass up. We understand that and I understand that,'' he said.

Gesser said he agrees with the decision to allow Price to coach at the Rose Bowl.

"He's been there for us all year, why not let him coach?'' he asked. "I think it's going to be weird at practices the next couple of days, but once we get out there, we're all going for the same goal: to win the game.''

Cornerback Marcus Trufant, a senior and second-team AP All-America, said players were shocked, but understand Price made his decision based on what is best for him and his family.

"There are mixed emotions on the team. Some say, 'If he wants to leave, he should leave,''' Trufant said.

Under Doba, the Cougars this season were one of the top defenses in the Pacific 10, allowing 82 rushing yards and 21 points per game. They were seventh in the nation in rushing defense.

Doba was born in South Bend, Ind., and graduated from Ball State.

He coached at several high schools in Indiana before he was hired by Lee Corso at Indiana University in 1977. He coached at Purdue from 1983-86, and was defensive coordinator at The Citadel in 1987-88.

He was hired at WSU in 1989, less than a month after Price arrived from Weber State. He has been defensive coordinator since 1994.

Doba is married and has three children.

Price, 56, is replacing Dennis Franchione, who left Tuscaloosa for Texas A&M on Dec. 5.

Price, 83-77 as WSU coach, has taken the Cougars to five of the nine bowl games in team history, including the upcoming Rose Bowl. The 10-2 records in each of the past two seasons are his first consecutive winning seasons at WSU.







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