If you are on the edge of your seat, waiting for what you think is a foregone conclusion that Mike Price is the next head coach? You might want to cool it. Jim Sterk went on KJR last night with Elise and Ian, and he did in fact acknowledge that Bill Moos has talked to Mike. But Sterk said that he himself had not yet talked to Mike, at all. When asked if Price was interested in the job, Sterk wouldn’t elaborate, saying that was up to Price on however he wanted to talk about the situation. But Sterk did say that Price was NOT THE GO-TO-GUY ON THE LIST, and this search is not about Mike Price.
Here’s the link to the interview. It’s a really interesting listen, and I encourage you all to check it out.
If you heard Sterk last night, you might want to dig in for the long haul. The impression he gave was that this is, in no way, going to be a rush job. Despite what you may have heard from whatever sources you may have, Sterk flat-out said that this is going to be a thorough, detailed process leaving no stone unturned. He even mentioned that they won’t set a true deadline, but that the end of the year the new coach should be in place (!?!). End of the year?? I don’t think we like the sound of that, not when December is such an important month for all recruiting efforts, but especially one that Doba had stead-fastly decided that we would be different and we would wait things out, jumping in late on a lot of kids. Not such a swell idea now, is it??
And one more thing from Sterk on Price. Let’s just say if Sterk wanted Price and he was the clear-cut #1 choice. Would there be talk of this long process with Moos and Floyd all actively involved? Sterk also said that there is really a committee, including a few team captains, and they are all going to have input on what they are hoping for in a new coach. Sterk admitted himself that he loves to get input from many different people before he makes the decision, so it’s not as if he’s sprinting to the podium with his arm around Price. But if they wanted Price that badly, this thing would already be over, ala Houston Nutt at Ole Miss. This is not going to be a quick process.
Maybe that’s actually the best news of all. Moos and Sterk and Floyd are extremely confident in their situation, and it was hard not to listen to Sterk and feel nothing but good feelings that they are going to do EVERYTHING THEY CAN to get us the perfect fit. They are smart guys who know what they are looking for, and Sterk himself has shown he can think “outside the box”. To this day, nobody saw the Bennett’s coming, yet here we are #6 in the country and a team with legit Final Four aspirations. The June Daugherty hire is still considered a major get, and in a few years they could be a factor in the conference. So let’s just see what they come up with. Maybe it will be a name that nobody saw and we’ll be absolutely blindsided. But I know this. We should feel great about the guys leading this search, because I don’t think we could be in better hands.
Price did speak to (who else) Howie Stalwick, and more or less danced around the topic. Moos said they talked but it was a “feeling out” process and that was the extent of the details. In the same article, John L. Smith said he was interested and Moos had contacted him already as well. And the Cal guys, Gregory and Michalzcik, both admitted interest as well. Again, not a surprise.
Meanwhile, Moos does say that things are moving fast. At least as far as the preliminary call list, Moos is basically done according to the TNT. I imagine that he’s been glued to the phone the last couple of days, and that they are ready to dig deeper after the initial contact phase.
For the rumor-monger, Pat Hill at Fresno State is mentioned in Howie’s article. While he didn’t come out and say he wants the job, a “source with Fresno State ties” admitted that Hill is very interested in WSU, but Hill said Wednesday that he hadn’t talked to anyone. And if you really want to dig rumors, how about the one that said Rick Neuheisel had been spotted in Pullman Wednesday?? Nah. I don’t think we can fathom going there, even if the Go-2-Guy sure can.
Finally, Jim Walden – if anyone thinks he is cool with Price returning??? Think again. He went out of his way to push Wulff in the P-I yesterday, and he was just getting started. He also went out of his way to piss on Price’s candidacy, both in print and on the radio. I heard him last night with Jeff Aaron, and he said Price “won’t happen”, for many reasons, including age, the circumstances with how he left and his poor record the last couple of years which shows that he really hasn’t built much of anything at UTEP. Here’s a link to the story, although you may have trouble getting to it. Reading some of these quotes from Walden, and hearing him last night, I don’t think he’ll go out of his way to buy Price a beer if he returns to Pullman:
“If they’re beating up Doba (in recruiting) because of his age now,” said Jim Walden, one of Price’s predecessors and now the Cougars’ extremely colorful commentator on radio, “why wouldn’t they beat up Price for the same thing?”
“I don’t think a coach that leaves a school when he’s got them in the Rose Bowl and goes to another place is what you want,” said Walden, as usual holding back not at all. “I’m not thinking that’s a serious move for a school.
“We didn’t divorce him. He left us. The Cougar in me says, ‘No.’ Maybe it’s emotional. Or maybe I have a deeper feel for the school that says we’ve got to get better.”
“What is he doing for UTEP that we would get excited about?” Walden said. “Has he been to four bowls in four years? Won 50 games? What makes us think he’s a great prospect? I’m not trying to knock the guy, but let’s move on.”
Finally, on the air last night, Walden said not only “it won’t happen” but that he doesn’t think Price wants the job or really cares to get it. According to Walden, the only reason he would do it is if he can get Eric the head coaching job down the line, just like everyone has speculated. And that Price doesn’t need the money or the new challenge at his age, and that he’d likely just take the job and spend more time at his lake place than out on the road recruiting or doing the extra work it’s going to take to get this thing back to where we want it to be. Safe to say, Walden IS NOT IN THE PRICE CAMP!
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