Welcome home you: WAZZU hires alum, ex-Oregon AD Bill Moos

It only took 16 extra years, but WAZZU finally hired Bill Moos to be the AD in Pullman.
http://washingtonstate.scout.com/2/947455.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2011162379_moos24.html

As a Coug, I suppose I have to publicly thank Uncle Phil Knight for forcing Moos out at UO in 2006-07.
This has come together so fast (I believe former AD Jim Sterk was announced at San Diego State last Monday), I'm thinking this had been in the works for a while. Day after Sterk left, the WAZZU president was publicly touting Moos for an on-campus visit the following day. I don't recall many AD searches over the years when a school president has so quickly and so publicly singled out one person as a top candidate. Not that I'm complaining.

 

Good hire for the Cougs, a great school that needs a lot of financial help in almost every area of its athletic department.

Moos' biggest problem at Oregon was his spine. He had one when it came to Knight, whereas Frohnmeyer and Killkenny obviously didn't.

 

Ironic that Moos brought Uncle Phil's money to UO. I wouldn't be surprised if Nike money was paying Moos the $200K the last three years.
As far as WAZZU goes, I'm thinking Wulff's leash just got a lot shorter. Sterk had his back, and was willing to be patient with him. Moos has said he doesn't want anyone to be OK with mediocre, so my hunch is Wulff has one season to turn it around big time.

 

I think Wulff had to start winning, even with Sterk there. Can't survive on 20 K at FB games; they're couldn't have been more than 12K there for the game I saw last year.

 

I have to admit, while I am not a WSU fan, I admire any coach who can get any kids to commit to living in Pullman for four years.

Although there isn't much I would not have done to have had my education paid for in full.

 

Wazzu ranked last in the nation in attendance among BCS conference teams last season (just under 26K). They were much more competitive last season than in 2008, but you're right they need to start winning some games to get butts in seats if nothing else.

 

Those who keep trotting out the "Wulff is in trouble now" hatchet don't get the situation.

1. As Micro said, Wulff was in trouble next year without an upward trend no matter what. Year 3 had to be about results.

2. He was hired by Elson Floyd and he'll be fired by Elson Floyd. The AD just gets to lead the press conference. That said, Moos will have more to say than Sterk did.

 

Elson Floyd? The guy that Earle Bruce wanted to kill after getting fired at Colorado State? Can't believe he's still around.

 

Wulff seems like a decent guy but when you don't even dial out of the area code to replace your last coach and you pay him peanuts - you shouldn't expect miracles.
From what I've seen of the Cougs, Wulff is still recruiting I-AA level talent.

 

Dan, what you've seen of the Cougs aren't really Wulff's guys yet. I admittedly am a Wulff apologist, but the stat that blew me away was that, of the 85-man scholarship roster, only 14 players in the top two classes made the trip to Seattle this year for Apple Cup. The team is bottom loaded and his recruiting classes have been pretty solid, ranked 42 and 39 by Rivals the past two years.

More troubling for me is that Wulff's guys seem to be getting in all sorts of trouble both with the law and academically. That needs to end. I thought he was the right guy when they hired him and was certain he was who they were going to go with two years before they finally ended the horrible Bill Doba tenure, but they need to get results this year or he's out.