Do recruiting rankings matter?

[Loyal Coug]

You can get that from other people plenty of people do those things and aren’t blowhards who tell us who to hire and try to prop up the worst coach in the history of the program.

Every single thing you listed except for his 3-6 Apple Cup Record has NOTHING to do with coaching. NOTHING.
He was 0-4 his first 4 Apple Cups and 2-4 his first six years. Leach is 1-5.

100k donation is a donation anyone can donate. And as I said the guy OWES us money for paying him for so long when his overall results were poor.

Conceptualizing and executing Apple Cup to Pullman from Spokane? The game was always going to end up in Pullman. What did people think it was never going to come to Pullman? As if somehow the University would never grow. We’ve played the Apple Cup in Pullman before Jim Walden and we played it after too. The reality is Jim Walden took credit for crap he didn’t even do. He was just the coach during that time.

Martin Stadium was going to be built. The semester was going to be moved like everyone else.

That’s like Leach taking credit for the FOB building. Well I came here and I told them we needed one and they built it because I said so.

Albi was going to be a temporary place and honestly I believe they intentionally burnt the old fields at Idaho and in Pullman to make it so people had to go to Albi until the stadiums were replaced. Which was the plan all along.

So Walden stamps his feet about Albi and wants the game in Pullman blah blah blah... it was all just an act they were gonna do it anyway.

The semesters synched and then it made no sense to use Albi anymore. Albi was always the temp solution until the new solution was in place on campus. Walden (as typical was just the bullsh*ttee). Again all this has nothing to do with coaching.

“Folksy Charm” - Sarah Palin has “folksy charm” , and that doesn’t mean I need to listen to that dumb ho. If you want “folksy charm” buy the box set of he-haw. Again that has ZERO to do with actual coaching.

Oh my. When are you going to stop this crusade? Aren't YOU sick of raging about a coach who left 32 years ago? When you were what - 7 years old?

Go back and look at the schedule pre-1982. We played uw in Spokane, UCLA in Spokane, and USC in Seattle (when they would venture north at all).

How you can tell us how it went down before you were born is mystifying. You realize that some of us (myself included) were actually in college at WSU during these years? Yes Walden was a driving force in getting the Apple Cup (and ultimately all games) moved to Pullman. The 1980 Apple Cup was still in Spokane, after the stadium expansion. in 1984 USC came to town for the first time in - I don't know - decades? Oh, little factoid - WSU's greatest of margin of victory over USC? 34-14. IN 1986, in Pullman.

Last thing, then I am banning this thread from memory. Your comment about CML and the FOB. The consensus on this board (not my opinion) is that the FOB was indeed part of the lure to bringing CML to town. Maybe you can start arguing that one for 30 or 40 threads.

 

[CougEd]

One final comment about Wulff and then I'll step away from this thread. First, I've always said that I don't think that Wulff is a "good" coach and I've always said that he needed to be fired. Where you guys fail.....and I know that you don't believe this......is that you obsess about the overall record and can't see the bigger picture.

Wulff really was told by the leadership at WSU to clean up the program. With Doba distracted by his wife's health issues, there was a lack of discipline and serious drug use amongst the players on the team, at least from the perception of the WSU leadership. He felt that the directive from his boss was to purge the team of bad actors regardless of the cost on the win tallies. I know this because I heard it straight from the horse's mouth. Now, did he make it worse than he "needed" to? Probably. Did he have a legitimate plan to make WSU a conference championship contender? I don't believe he did.

When you look at the 2011 team and how it performed......and then contrast it with how the team performed in 2012 and 2014, either Leach is not nearly as good of a gameday coach as you think he is, or Wulff was actually starting to bring the program back up out of the depths and was starting to get a system in place. That 2013 bowl team was loaded with guys recruited by Wulff. I don't believe that Wulff was a "good" coach and he needed to be fired, but looking at his record alone fails to capture what was going on during his tenure. His discipline wasn't good enough and he failed to instill a winning culture in the way that Leach has done, but he was a guy who was hired to do some dirty work and he did it. I don't believe that he was ever going to get us to a championship, but he was a very Sweeney type of coach. I mean that as both a compliment and an insult.

When I see bad coaches at WSU, I see the ones that took a good situation and made it bad and left the program in ruins. Kevin Eastman and Ken Bone are examples on the basketball side. As I mentioned before, Kircher took a program that was running around 0.500 and buried us by year four. I view the guys like that more negatively than I do a guy like Wulff who was given a task and did it, even if he did it poorly at times. Wulff deserves to be considered one of our worst coaches ever for the way 2008-10 played out and he might be our worst coach ever, but when you look at the bigger picture, it isn't a clear as a simpleton like Tron would like to paint it.

I think it may be a slight over simplification on the Eastman and Bone front . Bone is a really good coach . He just wasn’t a really good coach for WSU . A mistake he made was thinking his popularity in Seattle and at Garfield and Rainier Beach was going to translate into getting those kids east of the mountains .

A couple of breaks or different decisions may have given him the cache to really build it. It didn’t happen and as it turned out not a good fit for WSU . But his success at spu and Portland state and the success as an assistant at uw tells me he is a good coach .

 

[Cougatron]

One final comment about Wulff and then I'll step away from this thread. First, I've always said that I don't think that Wulff is a "good" coach and I've always said that he needed to be fired. Where you guys fail.....and I know that you don't believe this......is that you obsess about the overall record and can't see the bigger picture.

Wulff really was told by the leadership at WSU to clean up the program. With Doba distracted by his wife's health issues, there was a lack of discipline and serious drug use amongst the players on the team, at least from the perception of the WSU leadership. He felt that the directive from his boss was to purge the team of bad actors regardless of the cost on the win tallies. I know this because I heard it straight from the horse's mouth. Now, did he make it worse than he "needed" to? Probably. Did he have a legitimate plan to make WSU a conference championship contender? I don't believe he did.

When you look at the 2011 team and how it performed......and then contrast it with how the team performed in 2012 and 2014, either Leach is not nearly as good of a gameday coach as you think he is, or Wulff was actually starting to bring the program back up out of the depths and was starting to get a system in place. That 2013 bowl team was loaded with guys recruited by Wulff. I don't believe that Wulff was a "good" coach and he needed to be fired, but looking at his record alone fails to capture what was going on during his tenure. His discipline wasn't good enough and he failed to instill a winning culture in the way that Leach has done, but he was a guy who was hired to do some dirty work and he did it. I don't believe that he was ever going to get us to a championship, but he was a very Sweeney type of coach. I mean that as both a compliment and an insult.

When I see bad coaches at WSU, I see the ones that took a good situation and made it bad and left the program in ruins. Kevin Eastman and Ken Bone are examples on the basketball side. As I mentioned before, Kircher took a program that was running around 0.500 and buried us by year four. I view the guys like that more negatively than I do a guy like Wulff who was given a task and did it, even if he did it poorly at times. Wulff deserves to be considered one of our worst coaches ever for the way 2008-10 played out and he might be our worst coach ever, but when you look at the bigger picture, it isn't a clear as a simpleton like Tron would like to paint it.

He was the worst coach in the history of WSU that’s the whole story. He had 4 years to write his legacy.

 

[Cougatron]

Oh my. When are you going to stop this crusade? Aren't YOU sick of raging about a coach who left 32 years ago? When you were what - 7 years old?

Go back and look at the schedule pre-1982. We played uw in Spokane, UCLA in Spokane, and USC in Seattle (when they would venture north at all).

How you can tell us how it went down before you were born is mystifying. You realize that some of us (myself included) were actually in college at WSU during these years? Yes Walden was a driving force in getting the Apple Cup (and ultimately all games) moved to Pullman. The 1980 Apple Cup was still in Spokane, after the stadium expansion. in 1984 USC came to town for the first time in - I don't know - decades? Oh, little factoid - WSU's greatest of margin of victory over USC? 34-14. IN 1986, in Pullman.

Last thing, then I am banning this thread from memory. Your comment about CML and the FOB. The consensus on this board (not my opinion) is that the FOB was indeed part of the lure to bringing CML to town. Maybe you can start arguing that one for 30 or 40 threads.

Nope never sick of it because Jim Walden is part of the disease that hurt the program, and honestly when his “legacy” is completely forgotten and thrown in the trash heap will be a great day for WSU.

There were two people who set WSU backwards. Walden and Wulff. Horrible coaches. And I want to cure the disease that has infected the brains of those who can’t see reality.

See I posted Walden’s Record to the general football forum just to see what people would say. They don’f Carry the stupid emotional bs baggage you infected waldenites carry.

Read their responses
https://forums.rivals.com/threads/a...ception-of-a-good-coach.827998/#post-25144636

Any person with a normal sense of what success is in college football knows Jim Walden was a crap coach

You see the typical people trying to take about morals and ethics but still.. at the end of the day he is a coach. He is there to win games, and Walden was a loser more than a winner and that’s a fact then and that’s a fact today.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Nope never sick of it because Jim Walden is part of the disease that hurt the program, and honestly when his “legacy” is completely forgotten and thrown in the trash heap will be a great day for WSU.

There were two people who set WSU backwards. Walden and Wulff. Horrible coaches. And I want to cure the disease that has infected the brains of those who can’t see reality.

See I posted Walden’s Record to the general football forum just to see what people would say. They don’f Carry the stupid emotional bs baggage you infected waldenites carry.

Read their responses
https://forums.rivals.com/threads/a...ception-of-a-good-coach.827998/#post-25144636

Any person with a normal sense of what success is in college football knows Jim Walden was a crap coach

You see the typical people trying to take about morals and ethics but still.. at the end of the day he is a coach. He is there to win games, and Walden was a loser more than a winner and that’s a fact then and that’s a fact today.

Walden is part of the disease that hurt the program? Getting us to the first bowl game in 50 years, getting bowl eligible for 3 out of 4 years and asking WSU fans to expect to beat UW is such a curse on the program. He needed to go after the 1986 season but your insistence that he was bad for WSU just makes you look stupid.

I'll freely admit that I should probably never say anything but negative things about Wulff because nobody really cares. You need to understand that you are on an island with regards to your hate of Walden. I don't love Walden and I wish he would have just shut his trap in late 2011 but he's done more for WSU than you and everyone you know combined. You still need to cut that $100,000 check that you were talking sh!t about earlier.

 

[Cougatron]

Walden is part of the disease that hurt the program? Getting us to the first bowl game in 50 years, getting bowl eligible for 3 out of 4 years and asking WSU fans to expect to beat UW is such a curse on the program. He needed to go after the 1986 season but your insistence that he was bad for WSU just makes you look stupid.

I'll freely admit that I should probably never say anything but negative things about Wulff because nobody really cares. You need to understand that you are on an island with regards to your hate of Walden. I don't love Walden and I wish he would have just shut his trap in late 2011 but he's done more for WSU than you and everyone you know combined. You still need to cut that $100,000 check that you were talking sh!t about earlier.

Hahahaha “more than me and everyone I know combined” that’s hilarious.

Jim Walden is trash he was trash and he created the disease mentality that some people are still afflicted with.

He’s the king of golly shucks we tried juice box participation trophy for you because you’re a coug

Here’s a fact. And this shows just how dumb your rationale on Walden is.

It took the coach right after him just 2 years to not only win a bowl game, but alo post a win total higher than he ever achieved in 9 years of “service”

And this really strikes the heart of your waldenite disease. You would rather keep giving a bad coach more years than wake up to the potential of what is possible when you get rid of the them.

You cling to Wulff... he was fired and 2 years later with new coach bowl game something he never achieved.

You cling to Walden...he left and 2 years later with new coach bowl game win and 9 wins something he never achieved.

You cling to sh*t more often than toilet paper.

 

[CougPatrol]

I understand how and why Walden has rubbed many fans the wrong way as an announcer and a radio personality, but unless you grew up in the 80's following WSU, you'll never understand how good of a coach he was at WSU.

Walden's impact was far more significant than his W/L record. He was, in my lifetime, the founding Father of Cougar football pride. At a time when we had nothing...and I mean, literally nothing in terms of money, notoriety, media presence, etc.; he stood up the P10 conference and led the charge to moving games back to Pullman. Most importantly though was that he went toe to toe with Don James during UW's greatest decade. He was brash during the press conferences and won some of the biggest Apple Cup games ever played. He single handedly brought the rivalry back to life in a decade when WSU could have easily become an afterthought.

I'm not happy with how his legacy has changed over the past 20 years, but I'll always remember him as one of the most important coaches in WSU history.

 

[CougPatrol]

Nope never sick of it because Jim Walden is part of the disease that hurt the program, and honestly when his “legacy” is completely forgotten and thrown in the trash heap will be a great day for WSU.

I don't know you, and I don't mean this to sound like a personal attack, but that comment is one of the most idiotic things I've ever read on here (and that's saying something).

Jim Walden (the coach) is one of the most important people in the history of our football program. His success in the early 80's and his ability to show up in Apple Cups during UW's dominant run of glory is the main, and probably the only reason why we didn't become Oregon State. We played for the conference title in 1981, delivered UW's must crushing Apple Cup loss in history in 1982 and backed it up again in 1983. The 1984 team was a great team that lost at Tennessee by 7, to USC by 2, to UCLA by 3, and to UW by 9. In 1985, while the team disappointed on the field, we had one of the best offensive backfields in P10 history which brought much needed positive publicity to our program, and in 1986 we beat USC for the first time in decades.

Sorry again for piling on you, but I grew up in the 80s. WSU was a high school program competing at the P10 level. UW & USC had glitz and glamour on game days. WSU had athletic duffel bags surrounding the field and visible gaps between the artificial turf seams. It was a JOKE back then. I bet our training table had PB&J sandwiches.

If we didn't hire Walden, I honestly don't know where our program would be.

 

[Observer11]

Well said, CougPatrol.

I'd suggest tron do a little research on the 'failures' of Walden and the so-called 'juice box mentality'.

Start with Dr. Ed Tingstad, Dr. Pat Lynch, Dan Lynch, Dr. Steve Haub, Reuben Mayes, Ron Claudon, Dave Harrison, Mike and John Dreyer, Mark Rypien, the late Dr. Jeff Files, Tom Yearout....I could probably add another 50 or so.

And if that isn't sufficient, a face-to-face education meeting with Mr. Charlie Flager, Mr. Junior Tupuola or Mr. Keith Millard would be very entertaining.

 

[CougPatrol]

Well said, CougPatrol.

I'd suggest tron do a little research on the 'failures' of Walden and the so-called 'juice box mentality'.

Start with Dr. Ed Tingstad, Dr. Pat Lynch, Dan Lynch, Dr. Steve Haub, Reuben Mayes, Ron Claudon, Dave Harrison, Mike and John Dreyer, Mark Rypien, the late Dr. Jeff Files, Tom Yearout....I could probably add another 50 or so.

And if that isn't sufficient, a face-to-face education meeting with Mr. Charlie Flager, Mr. Junior Tupuola or Mr. Keith Millard would be very entertaining.

Some people just aren't able to separate Walden's on-air mouth from he meant to WSU as a coach.

The 1981 team played for the conference title. The 1982 team delivered UW their most crushing defeat in history, the 1983 team was regarded to be the best in the conference at the end of the season, the 1984 finished 6-5 but had a ton of star power. The 1985 team disappointed, but won at UW. By modern day standards, WSU should (would) have played in 3 bowl games under Walden.

I've been an avid fan of WSU since the late 1970's, and I'd rank Walden's tenure as one of the best, do more with less, in conference history.

 

[longtimecoug]

Well said, CougPatrol.

I'd suggest tron do a little research on the 'failures' of Walden and the so-called 'juice box mentality'.

Start with Dr. Ed Tingstad, Dr. Pat Lynch, Dan Lynch, Dr. Steve Haub, Reuben Mayes, Ron Claudon, Dave Harrison, Mike and John Dreyer, Mark Rypien, the late Dr. Jeff Files, Tom Yearout....I could probably add another 50 or so.

And if that isn't sufficient, a face-to-face education meeting with Mr. Charlie Flager, Mr. Junior Tupuola or Mr. Keith Millard would be very entertaining.

not sure why anyone would want to meet Junior Tupuola, he belongs behind bars

 

[Observer11]

not sure why anyone would want to meet Junior Tupuola, he belongs behind bars

He's actually a preacher these days.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Hahahaha “more than me and everyone I know combined” that’s hilarious.

Jim Walden is trash he was trash and he created the disease mentality that some people are still afflicted with.

He’s the king of golly shucks we tried juice box participation trophy for you because you’re a coug

Here’s a fact. And this shows just how dumb your rationale on Walden is.

It took the coach right after him just 2 years to not only win a bowl game, but alo post a win total higher than he ever achieved in 9 years of “service”

And this really strikes the heart of your waldenite disease. You would rather keep giving a bad coach more years than wake up to the potential of what is possible when you get rid of the them.

You cling to Wulff... he was fired and 2 years later with new coach bowl game something he never achieved.

You cling to Walden...he left and 2 years later with new coach bowl game win and 9 wins something he never achieved.

You cling to sh*t more often than toilet paper.

Cling to Wulff? I've always said that he needed to be fired.

Cling to Walden? Again, needed to be fired.

I look at Walden and Wulff and realize that they are human beings that gave everything that they had to the university. At the end of the day, they weren't as good as they needed to be, but they took their shot. The difference between you and I is that I respect them for their attempts and wish them the best in life after they leave WSU. I don't want them on the sidelines, but I try to find a silver lining. You, on the other hand, are the stereotypical internet bully who constantly belittles and attacks people to seek validation.

You ignore what people say and barf out non-sensical bullsh!t all the time in support of your retarded narratives. All BS aside, you made the comment above that anyone can write a $100,000 check. Have you donated $10,000 in your lifetime? I'm betting not. You bring up Erickson and act like it's routine that WSU went 9-3 in 1988, ignoring the fact that Erickson was the king of recruiting MCMW (more criminals, more wins) and then running away once things got messy.

Finally, I want to reiterate, because you really are too f#cking stupid to explain it to without feeling like I'm talking to a child........I'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT WULFF AND WALDEN BOTH NEEDED TO BE FIRED. It baffles me that you are too stupid to comprehend that.

 

[CougEd]

Tron,

I think the Flat-Loyal-Ed crew gives CJW credit for:

1. Winning multiple Apple Cups at a time when UW was successful.

2. Conceptualizing and executing the transfer of the Apple Cup from Spokane to Pullman.

3. Donating six figures of his own money to WSU

4. Providing a certain “folksy charm” to Cougar Football radio broadcasts.

Those things, both individually and as a group, mean quite a bit to a lot of people who love WSU.

Pete...you are understating my position with Jim Walden. WSU wsa the albatrose around the Pac 10's neck. We were not relevant. We became a stepping stone school, where they didn't play their rival in Pullman. LA Schools didn't visit. No facilities. he saved WSU from being banished to the WAC. He played a for rose Bowl his 4th year. When was the last time prior to that? 1931. He put WSU in the news even when they didn't play well. He beat the Huskies and knock them out of 2 Rose Bowls, which I believe they played for four consecutive Rose Bowls.

If not for Walden there is a very good chance we would be struggling to find a conference, similar to Idaho but on a bigger scale.

As to the others you wanted to know about, Doba and wulff below average, and in hindight because of recruiting deficiencies by Doba if I had to rehire one it would be wulff. Doba great assistant.

Leach and Price above average Pac 12 coaches. Price had higher upside in a season, Leach will be 8-5, 9-3. Not sure if he can get over the hump like Price did.

 

[TSKCoug]

Certainly getting the 4 and 5 stars in big numbers is a key to success in many places but no guarantee of success. University of Texas is Exhibit A in that regard almost every year they are in the top 10, some years top 5 but the 'Horns seem to excel at pissing it away to near mediocrity.

 

[Cougatron]

I understand how and why Walden has rubbed many fans the wrong way as an announcer and a radio personality, but unless you grew up in the 80's following WSU, you'll never understand how good of a coach he was at WSU.

Walden's impact was far more significant than his W/L record. He was, in my lifetime, the founding Father of Cougar football pride.

I'm not happy with how his legacy has changed over the past 20 years, but I'll always remember him as one of the most important coaches in WSU history.

He created the stupidity that has plagued the program ever since him. That same stupidity led to Paul Wulff.

Don't believe me. Exhibit A.

What kind of person hates Mike Price? Some b*tter washed up coach who didn't like that Mike Price out shined him. He doesn't like any coach who exposes how bad he was.

Ericson, Price, and Leach are the founding Fathers of Cougar Pride.

Walden is the biggest Snake Oil salesman that ever lived. The king pied piper leading lemmings off a cliff for his own ego. As I said earlier it took a coach just 2 years to achieve a higher number of wins and bowl game win after Walden, but during the Walden years you all ate it up. You were mesmerized by him and had no actual real frame of reference about what else was possible. Jim Walden was your world, and it's no surprise that world was a .396 win percentage, but he tricked you into enjoying being a loser.

And that is the crime of all crimes, because he made loser mentality something to aspire to. Something you need. Like Paul Wulff because "it's the cougar way". His way was a .386 win %. His way was fullfilling the prophecy that WSU are losers but hey we beat the huskies that few times. So you are right he is a founding father, but not of Cougar Pride. The founding father of Coug delusional mediocrity disguised as Pride.

 

[Cougatron]

And I will add further.

I would have no problem whatsoever with Paul Wulff if he had left in his press conference and said.

To the WSU family I'm sorry I feel like I let you all down, I was out of my league and wasn't ready for such an opportunity, but I love this place as you all do and I sincerely tried my best, and I think I've built at least something decent to hand over to the new coach to build something great in the next coming years, I'm rooting for him, this program, these players, this University, and I'll do whatever I can in any way to make it be the best it can be as always. I appreciate the opportunity you all gave me, and this isn't the end, but the beginning of a bright new chapter in Cougar football and I'm excited to be there cheering along side all of you as we watch it grow and develop.

THAT is someone I would respect, THAT is someone I would even defend and say hey he wasn't a good coach but a good guy who really showed a lot of heart for his school and is always putting the program and school first. But no. That's not what we got. We got "losing our innonce", we got blame everybody else, we a lack of accountability.

And if Jim Walden was around the program and was like "Mike Price is great, and Mike Leach will be great, and I'm proud of Paul for trying, he just wasn't ready for that step yet, I'm pretty far removed from the way the game is done these says, so I'll let Leach be Leach and do things his way and support him, and make no mistake I will talk some trash about the Huskies because that's what I do.

I'd be fine with Walden. A bad coach, but someone who again.... puts the PROGRAM first and supports its growth and development.

But they aren't those people. They are bad coaches who are bitter and obnoxious and more concerned with their own ego than the success of the program. That's who Walden and Wulff are and that's a disease. Those people shouldn't be on pedestals.

GET BETTER HEROES.

 

[CougPatrol]

I’ve followed WSU as closely as anyone over the past 40 years. I listened to or attended almost every game coached by Price, and many of them were announced by Walden. Never once did I detect that Walden didn’t think that Price was anything but a fantastic coach. They may have had a falling out at some point, but that’s their business.

As for Walden the coach, he’s one of the most important pieces of WSUs football history. He’s a legend. That’s not debated by many people. A conference record of 28–39–3 from 1978-1986, the first bowl game in 51 years, and the most consistent performance against UW of any coach in school history. WSU was a high school program when Walden got there.

You’re blinded by bitterness here Tron.

 

[Loyal Coug]

I’ve followed WSU as closely as anyone over the past 40 years. I listened to or attended almost every game coached by Price, and many of them were announced by Walden. Never once did I detect that Walden didn’t think that Price was anything but a fantastic coach. They may have had a falling out at some point, but that’s their business.

As for Walden the coach, he’s one of the most important pieces of WSUs football history. He’s a legend. That’s not debated by many people. A conference record of 28–39–3 from 1978-1986, the first bowl game in 51 years, and the most consistent performance against UW of any coach in school history. WSU was a high school program when Walden got there.

You’re blinded by bitterness here Tron.

Good post. Just had to copy and paste Wikipedia below about Jim.

Further, I met Jim on more than one occasion. He is a fine and good man. His kids and I went to WSU together. His boat on Lake CDA is crimson and gray. I've seen it.

I did not know that he turned down Arizona out of loyalty to ISU.

Coaching career[edit]
Walden began his college coaching career at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on Devaney's staff, where he assisted on consecutive national championship teams in 1970 and 1971. After the 1972 season, Devaney retired and Walden then coached for four seasons at the University of Miami under Pete Elliott and fellow Devaney assistant, Carl Selmer.

Washington State[edit]
Walden followed Warren Powers, another Devaney assistant, to Washington State University as offensive backfield coach in 1977 and when Powers left for the University of Missouri after the season, Walden succeeded him as head coach of the Cougars. He was the head coach at WSU from 1978 to 1986, compiling a 44–52–4 record (.460) in nine seasons and coached some of the greatest players in school history, including Jack Thompson, Rueben Mayes, Kerry Porter, Ricky Reynolds, Paul Sorensen, Pat Beach, Brian Forde, Lee Blakeney, Mark Rypien, Dan Lynch, Keith Millard, and Erik Howard.

In his fourth season in 1981, Walden led the 8–2–1 Cougars to the Holiday Bowl, the school's first bowl appearance in 51 years, where they lost a 38–36 donnybrook to BYU, quarterbacked by Jim McMahon. That season, Walden was selected as the Pac-10 Coach of the Year. In 1985, WSU won their third Apple Cup in four seasons, a feat they have accomplished only two other times (in 1954 and 2007).[2]

Prior to the 1985 Apple Cup, in which the Washington Huskies were favored, Husky coach Don James jovially contrasted himself to Walden by quipping, "I'm a 2,000 word underdog."

Following a 3–7–1 season in 1986, Walden left in mid-December to become the 28th head coach for Iowa State,[3] and Dennis Erickson became the Cougars' next head coach.

Iowa State[edit]
Walden succeeded Jim Criner at Iowa State, where he compiled a 28–57–3 (.335) over eight seasons. ISU had been hit with scholarship reductions by the NCAA, both because of infractions by the previous coach, and an overall reduction in scholarships for Division I-A for the 1988 season.[4] In his first four years as Iowa State's head coach, he had just 57, 61, 63, and 67 scholarship players.[5] Walden had 47 scholarship players on his 1989 squad that he brought to Lincoln to play Nebraska on October 28. They lost 17-49.[6]

Prior to Matt Campbell defeating Oklahoma on October 7, 2017, Walden was the last Iowa State coach to defeat Oklahoma, which they did on October 20, 1990. Oklahoma was ranked 16th in the nation at the time.[7] They had narrowly missed an upset the year before, losing in Ames 40-43. His best record with the Cyclones was 6–5 in 1989. After the 1989 season, Walden was offered a head coaching job at the University of Arizona, but he declined the job, citing a number of people at Iowa State telling him it would be "devastating" if he left. In retrospect, Walden said he was "too dumb" to leave.[8]

 

[Cougatron]

I’ve followed WSU as closely as anyone over the past 40 years. I listened to or attended almost every game coached by Price, and many of them were announced by Walden. Never once did I detect that Walden didn’t think that Price was anything but a fantastic coach. They may have had a falling out at some point, but that’s their business.

As for Walden the coach, he’s one of the most important pieces of WSUs football history. He’s a legend. That’s not debated by many people. A conference record of 28–39–3 from 1978-1986, the first bowl game in 51 years, and the most consistent performance against UW of any coach in school history. WSU was a high school program when Walden got there.

You’re blinded by bitterness here Tron.

No Patrol. You are misled and I shall free you.

You just posted 28-39-3 conference record and associated that with legend. Think about that for a second.

In 1972 WSU was ranked #19 in the polls

And the year before Walden WSU was ranked as high as #15 in polls with Warren Powers who posted a 6-5 Record.

But the Walden myth still clouds your perception.

And right after Walden left Ericsson finished as #16 in the season with a bowl win.

So before Walden WSU finished in the top 25 in the polls and after Walden WSU finished there too.

So explain to me how this “high school” WSU team was able to go 6-5 the year before Walden and be ranked as high as #15.

Do tell.

 

[CougPatrol]

Well, in 1977 we had this QB named Jack Thompson. We also had a RB named Dan Doornik and a WR named Mike Levenseller. At the conclusion of the 1977 season, we lost our 3rd coach in 3 seasons.

Jim Walden, our 4th coach in 4 seasons, saved WSU football. Not just by winning games and beating UW, but because he genuinely gave a shit about WSU at the most critical crossroads in program history.

You’re wrong here Tron. It’s ok to tap out.

 

[Cougatron]

Well, in 1977 we had this QB named Jack Thompson. We also had a RB named Dan Doornik and a WR named Mike Levenseller. At the conclusion of the 1977 season, we lost our 3rd coach in 3 seasons.

Jim Walden, our 4th coach in 4 seasons, saved WSU football. Not just by winning games and beating UW, but because he genuinely gave a shit about WSU at the most critical crossroads in program history.

You’re wrong here Tron. It’s ok to tap out.

Oh so somehow this “high school team” that Jim Walden was handed had

a NFL QB in Jack Thompson (1st round)

A NFL drafted wide receiver in Levenseller
(Even though he didn’t play for Walden if I recall)

A NFL drafted RB

A NFL defensive back in Bob Gregor

Another NFL dB in Mike Snow

Do a lot of “high school teams” have 5+ NFL draft picks and a first round QB? From the previous coaches handed to them?

No. So once again this illustrates the Walden lies you have been told.

3rd coach in 3 seasons... Cristobal at Oregon is the 3rd coach in 3 seasons for Oregon. So if he posted a .386 win percentage And is there for 9 years I guess he gets “legend” and “savior” status?

Being at a place for several years doesn’t mean you saved it and it definitely doesn’t mean you are a legend. It just means you were there for a while... and considering Walden’s Record at WSU

You may be wondering why he was there so long while others got nicer jobs? Because nobody really wanted Walden.

So while he lost most of the time he stuck by his script, blah blah blah huskies blah blah shucks golly we this darn tootin’ that. And you all believed his mediocre ass.

As I said before with all those NFL players BEFORE Walden showed up and what Ericsson did in just 2 years right after....

Was Walden the “savior” or was he the arsonist and the firefighter?

I wonder where Wulff who also set fire to the program and claimed he was saving the program got that diseased mentality... hmmm...

Maybe when he said “losing our innocence” maybe he meant “losing our naivety”.

Because when you really look at Walden he wasn’t a good coach. He was a bullsh*tter. And he conned a lot of people. His protege did not, and in the end both snake oil salesmen were run out of town and rightfully so.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

No Patrol. You are misled and I shall free you.

You just posted 28-39-3 conference record and associated that with legend. Think about that for a second.

In 1972 WSU was ranked #19 in the polls

And the year before Walden WSU was ranked as high as #15 in polls with Warren Powers who posted a 6-5 Record.

But the Walden myth still clouds your perception.

And right after Walden left Ericsson finished as #16 in the season with a bowl win.

So before Walden WSU finished in the top 25 in the polls and after Walden WSU finished there too.

So explain to me how this “high school” WSU team was able to go 6-5 the year before Walden and be ranked as high as #15.

Do tell.

1972 was the one and only good season that Jim Sweeney had. That falls into the old "a broke clock is right twice a day" type of situation. Sweeney led WSU to three losing seasons after his moment in the sun and our conference records were in decline in those three seasons from 4-3 to 1-6 to 0-7. As I said before.....Sweeney = Wulff

Warren Powers just happened to be a pretty good coach. I'm not sure that a #15 ranking in week 2 is all that important but as for how did WSU finish 6-5 and get to #15? Powers had coached at Nebraska the year before and knew the coaching staff and team and knew how to game plan them. FWIW, he took his Missouri team into Lincoln the next year and did the same damned thing. Sad thing for Powers, his ability to beat Nebraska twice proved to be one of the highlights of his career. He proved to be a decent coach at Missouri but was never able to grab the brass ring. Going 4-5 to finish that 1977 season with a loss to 3-7-1 Kansas means that #15 ranking was flawed in the first place.

I'm still baffled at your complete lack of nuance when discussing anything. There are times where I wonder if you have orange hair and skin and white circles around your eyes because you seem to feel that things have to be either "the greatest ever" or "the worst ever" and anything that doesn't fit your worldview is the worst. None of us think of Walden as a great coach but most of us realize that he was exactly what we needed at the time. As you watch your TV and see other Coug fans sitting in Martin Stadium, remember that it really was Walden who insisted that WSU play games in Pullman. Whether you like it or not, he's the guy that made it happen.

 

[Cougatron]

1972 was the one and only good season that Jim Sweeney had. That falls into the old "a broke clock is right twice a day" type of situation. Sweeney led WSU to three losing seasons after his moment in the sun and our conference records were in decline in those three seasons from 4-3 to 1-6 to 0-7. As I said before.....Sweeney = Wulff

Warren Powers just happened to be a pretty good coach. I'm not sure that a #15 ranking in week 2 is all that important but as for how did WSU finish 6-5 and get to #15? Powers had coached at Nebraska the year before and knew the coaching staff and team and knew how to game plan them. FWIW, he took his Missouri team into Lincoln the next year and did the same damned thing. Sad thing for Powers, his ability to beat Nebraska twice proved to be one of the highlights of his career. He proved to be a decent coach at Missouri but was never able to grab the brass ring. Going 4-5 to finish that 1977 season with a loss to 3-7-1 Kansas means that #15 ranking was flawed in the first place.

I'm still baffled at your complete lack of nuance when discussing anything. There are times where I wonder if you have orange hair and skin and white circles around your eyes because you seem to feel that things have to be either "the greatest ever" or "the worst ever" and anything that doesn't fit your worldview is the worst. None of us think of Walden as a great coach but most of us realize that he was exactly what we needed at the time. As you watch your TV and see other Coug fans sitting in Martin Stadium, remember that it really was Walden who insisted that WSU play games in Pullman. Whether you like it or not, he's the guy that made it happen.

A broke Jim Walden won the Apple cup 3 times of 9 but that’s enough to disregard everything else...

“Exactly what we need” you have that confused with “all you allowed yourselves to have”

The “we would have been kicked out of the Pac 10” was always a myth cooked up by Walden to like always bullsh*t himself as more important than he was.

See WSU was the 5th team to join the Pac and the charter members were UW, Oregon, OSU, and Cal.

So as 1 of the original 5 along with Oregon/Oregon State there was never any real threat against WSU. UW was never going to abandon its in state land grant.

Now Idaho and Montana were originally part of the Pac conference but they didn’t end up in the conference in the end (and this was their major mistake)

Because a parallel conference was created in the 50s the AAWU focusing on academics but also there was a huge rift between the North schools and the Cal schools.

In this new conference Oregon, Oregon State and WSU joined up in the 1960s. But Idaho and Montana did not try to join. (Big Mistake) instead they went independent / to the big sky.

And the Pac 8 became the Pac 10 the year before Walden was hired with Arizona / ASU

So all that “they gonna throw us out of the Pac 10” was all bs. It had expanded just before Walden and as the land grant pairing and early members of the Pac and the AAWU WSU was never ever going to be dropped.

Idaho and Montana missed the opportunity to be in the Future Pac because they never sought (and were never invited to join the AAWU)

Walden was a master of bullsh*t. He made up fake problems and hardships to let people think he was more essential than he was.

WSU could have hired lots of people.

In fact former WSU assistant Jack Elway (yes John Elway’s dad) could have been hired as head coach.

Jim Walden was a classic example of WSU doing less with less because we chose less but people were too blind and hopped up on folksy stories and Busch light to realize it.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

A broke Jim Walden won the Apple cup 3 times of 9 but that’s enough to disregard everything else...

“Exactly what we need” you have that confused with “all you allowed yourselves to have”

The “we would have been kicked out of the Pac 10” was always a myth cooked up by Walden to like always bullsh*t himself as more important than he was.

See WSU was the 5th team to join the Pac and the charter members were UW, Oregon, OSU, and Cal.

So as 1 of the original 5 along with Oregon/Oregon State there was never any real threat against WSU. UW was never going to abandon its in state land grant.

Now Idaho and Montana were originally part of the Pac conference but they didn’t end up in the conference in the end (and this was their major mistake)

Because a parallel conference was created in the 50s the AAWU focusing on academics but also there was a huge rift between the North schools and the Cal schools.

In this new conference Oregon, Oregon State and WSU joined up in the 1960s. But Idaho and Montana did not try to join. (Big Mistake) instead they went independent / to the big sky.

And the Pac 8 became the Pac 10 the year before Walden was hired with Arizona / ASU

So all that “they gonna throw us out of the Pac 10” was all bs. It had expanded just before Walden and as the land grant pairing and early members of the Pac and the AAWU WSU was never ever going to be dropped.

Idaho and Montana missed the opportunity to be in the Future Pac because they never sought (and were never invited to join the AAWU)

Walden was a master of bullsh*t. He made up fake problems and hardships to let people think he was more essential than he was.

WSU could have hired lots of people.

In fact former WSU assistant Jack Elway (yes John Elway’s dad) could have been hired as head coach.

Jim Walden was a classic example of WSU doing less with less because we chose less but people were too blind and hopped up on folksy stories and Busch light to realize it.

You just brought up a bunch of things that I haven't been talking about. If you want to argue with people about that.....quote them......not me. This just goes to show that my prior comments about you are accurate. You routinely attribute comments to people who didn't say/type what you say that they did. When did I talk about WSU getting kicked out of the conference?

As for Idaho and Montana joining the conference..........you talk about Walden being the master of BS.......but I see you reaching for the crown right there. Everything I've ever read indicated that they never sought membership because they knew that they weren't going to be accepted into the new conference. I'd like to see any shred of evidence that there was any legitimate chance for them to join the AAWU.

FWIW, I do agree that there are a lot of coaches out there that were better than Walden. He's not a bad coach and his overall record at WSU is pretty much in line with our historical average but there is nothing to suggest that he was anything special. Again, the thing that I see in Walden was 1) stability at a time when the program could have fallen into chaos and 2) the understanding that WSU was playing football with one hand behind it's back with us only playing 2-3 games per year in our home stadium.

USC is the extreme example but from 1931 to 1977, WSU played USC in Pullman 4 times, Seattle 2 times, Spokane 3 times and LA 27 times. When we hosted USC in 1984, it was the first time the Trojans had been on the WSU campus in 38 years. They had played 5 times in either Seattle or Spokane in the 60's and 70's but none in Pullman. Regardless of your feelings for Walden's ability, our wins in Pullman in 2002 and 2017 in front of our own fans are a direct result of Walden's efforts to force teams to play there.

So, while I agree that we might have been able to find a better coach, Walden deserves credit for what he did for WSU. He provided stability, three winning seasons and an expectation that WSU fans had the right to watch their own team in person......in Pullman.

 

[CougEd]

Nope never sick of it because Jim Walden is part of the disease that hurt the program, and honestly when his “legacy” is completely forgotten and thrown in the trash heap will be a great day for WSU.

There were two people who set WSU backwards. Walden and Wulff. Horrible coaches. And I want to cure the disease that has infected the brains of those who can’t see reality.

See I posted Walden’s Record to the general football forum just to see what people would say. They don’f Carry the stupid emotional bs baggage you infected waldenites carry.

Read their responses
https://forums.rivals.com/threads/a...ception-of-a-good-coach.827998/#post-25144636

Any person with a normal sense of what success is in college football knows Jim Walden was a crap coach

You see the typical people trying to take about morals and ethics but still.. at the end of the day he is a coach. He is there to win games, and Walden was a loser more than a winner and that’s a fact then and that’s a fact today.

Tron....disease? Let's start with the simple stuff first. You are a results oriented guy...why did Breske fail so miserably at WSU? Why did WSU have a losing season the first three seasons? Because you always mention what the fans witness, why did the fans have to watch a 60-59 loss that didn't go into overtime to Cal, a team they handle just the year before. Why did they have to watch an Arizona team put 59 on us. Or watch Arizona State thump us for 52? Why those losses in such a fashion?

As to Walden, you can post polls from 1971. You can tell us about Warren Powers 6-5 team. You can tell us about Jack Thompson and his 13 TD's and 13 picks in 1977 and how they were ranked. I know you weren't born yet, but they were ranked cause they went into Lincoln and won. They lost to Kansas....you know the powerhouse Kansas. Just to give you an example of the scheduling back then, WSU played played their first home game of the yearin Pullman, and that was the fifth game of teh year. Their second home game? Teh 8th game of the year.

And you speak to how Walden failed in his first year in 1978. Here is a question for you, who led the country in drafted players in 1978?

You can point to conference records, how he was substandard all you want and that doesn't touch on the importance he had to the program. You have zero idea how tough it is to recruit and get good players when your coach leaves every year. You don't know tough it is to recruit and coach when you have to share an intramural field with the flag football teams. Playing on the carpet is one thing, it is one day a week, practicing on it is a whole different animal. So tell me one more time how the university of Washington had to play on it, yet their legs were saved because they had grass practice fields.

Saying all I have, with no FOB, no facilities, no home games, no USC, UCLA, UW coming to Pullman yet somehow that diseased coach brought in the likes of Keith Millard,(1st round) Erik Howard(second round) Eric Williams (third round) Milford Hodge (8th), Mark Rypien (5th NFL MVP), Ricky Reynolds (2nd round) James Hasty (3rd) Pat Beach(6th round) Pat Lynch (All American), Rueben Mayes (3rd) ...oh and the players he left for Erickson- Mike Utley, (3rd), Brousard (1st) Rosie (1) Michael Pringle (broke Mayes record after transferring) Tim downing, Mark Ledbetter, Jeron Woodley, Tony Savage, Randy Gray...just to name a few.

How did Walden sell all these very good football players without facilities? Maybe if WSU played Portland State instead of Michigan they would have been able to develop better depth. If they played Idaho State instead of say Ohio State, and Eastern instead of Tennessee the 84 team would have been at worse 8-3, same with the 83 team. Hmmm...yeah he was horrible for the program.

 

[CougEd]

Oh so somehow this “high school team” that Jim Walden was handed had

a NFL QB in Jack Thompson (1st round)

A NFL drafted wide receiver in Levenseller
(Even though he didn’t play for Walden if I recall)

A NFL drafted RB

A NFL defensive back in Bob Gregor

Another NFL dB in Mike Snow

Do a lot of “high school teams” have 5+ NFL draft picks and a first round QB? From the previous coaches handed to them?

No. So once again this illustrates the Walden lies you have been told.

3rd coach in 3 seasons... Cristobal at Oregon is the 3rd coach in 3 seasons for Oregon. So if he posted a .386 win percentage And is there for 9 years I guess he gets “legend” and “savior” status?

Being at a place for several years doesn’t mean you saved it and it definitely doesn’t mean you are a legend. It just means you were there for a while... and considering Walden’s Record at WSU

You may be wondering why he was there so long while others got nicer jobs? Because nobody really wanted Walden.

So while he lost most of the time he stuck by his script, blah blah blah huskies blah blah shucks golly we this darn tootin’ that. And you all believed his mediocre ass.

As I said before with all those NFL players BEFORE Walden showed up and what Ericsson did in just 2 years right after....

Was Walden the “savior” or was he the arsonist and the firefighter?

I wonder where Wulff who also set fire to the program and claimed he was saving the program got that diseased mentality... hmmm...

Maybe when he said “losing our innocence” maybe he meant “losing our naivety”.

Because when you really look at Walden he wasn’t a good coach. He was a bullsh*tter. And he conned a lot of people. His protege did not, and in the end both snake oil salesmen were run out of town and rightfully so.

Are you saying Ken Greene, Don Schwartz, Easom Ransom, Mike Levenseller, Brian Kelly, Dan Doornik, and Don Hover played for Walden? All drafted in 1978? He inherited Jack Thompson and no supporting cast.

 

[Cougatron]

You just brought up a bunch of things that I haven't been talking about. If you want to argue with people about that.....quote them......not me. This just goes to show that my prior comments about you are accurate. You routinely attribute comments to people who didn't say/type what you say that they did. When did I talk about WSU getting kicked out of the conference?

As for Idaho and Montana joining the conference..........you talk about Walden being the master of BS.......but I see you reaching for the crown right there. Everything I've ever read indicated that they never sought membership because they knew that they weren't going to be accepted into the new conference. I'd like to see any shred of evidence that there was any legitimate chance for them to join the AAWU.

FWIW, I do agree that there are a lot of coaches out there that were better than Walden. He's not a bad coach and his overall record at WSU is pretty much in line with our historical average but there is nothing to suggest that he was anything special. Again, the thing that I see in Walden was 1) stability at a time when the program could have fallen into chaos and 2) the understanding that WSU was playing football with one hand behind it's back with us only playing 2-3 games per year in our home stadium.

USC is the extreme example but from 1931 to 1977, WSU played USC in Pullman 4 times, Seattle 2 times, Spokane 3 times and LA 27 times. When we hosted USC in 1984, it was the first time the Trojans had been on the WSU campus in 38 years. They had played 5 times in either Seattle or Spokane in the 60's and 70's but none in Pullman. Regardless of your feelings for Walden's ability, our wins in Pullman in 2002 and 2017 in front of our own fans are a direct result of Walden's efforts to force teams to play there.

So, while I agree that we might have been able to find a better coach, Walden deserves credit for what he did for WSU. He provided stability, three winning seasons and an expectation that WSU fans had the right to watch their own team in person......in Pullman.

Montana and Idaho and Montana State and Weber founded the Big Sky when Montana / Idaho left the original Pac and they weren’t offered / didn’t pursue the new one.

Montana left early for the Mountain States conference and Idaho was shunted when they made the AAWU. See the Mountain State conference has like BYU, Wyoming, Utah (essentially it they all left to create the WAC)

Which left Montana and Idaho deciding to just pick up and make their own conference the Big Sky.

The Definitely could have pushed to get in the AAWU had they agreed to meet the academic requirements. But Montana left the original Pac to play with Rocky Mountain teams, and Idaho thought they would get to come but had no partner to bring to the AAWU and didn’t know about the academic requirements.

Had Montana and Idaho joined up and agreed to the academic requirements the Pac 8 would have been the Pac 10.

Which would have suited the management because if the added Arizona and ASU it would have given them the north and south they always wanted. (North being

Idaho, Montana, Washington, WSU, Oregon, OSU.

South - UCLA, USC, Cal, Stanford, Arizona, ASU.

Games were always going to end up in Pullman. Walden just waived his arms and made it a big deal for show.

In 1975 (before Walden) the north side seats were added and in then in 1979 the track was removed and field lowered.

All this prep work was being done before Walden showed up. He just talked about playing games in Pullman when that was already the plan.

 

[Cougatron]

Are you saying Ken Greene, Don Schwartz, Easom Ransom, Mike Levenseller, Brian Kelly, Dan Doornik, and Don Hover played for Walden? All drafted in 1978? He inherited Jack Thompson and no supporting cast.

No read the names I listed

 

[CougEd]

A broke Jim Walden won the Apple cup 3 times of 9 but that’s enough to disregard everything else...

“Exactly what we need” you have that confused with “all you allowed yourselves to have”

The “we would have been kicked out of the Pac 10” was always a myth cooked up by Walden to like always bullsh*t himself as more important than he was.

See WSU was the 5th team to join the Pac and the charter members were UW, Oregon, OSU, and Cal.

So as 1 of the original 5 along with Oregon/Oregon State there was never any real threat against WSU. UW was never going to abandon its in state land grant.

Now Idaho and Montana were originally part of the Pac conference but they didn’t end up in the conference in the end (and this was their major mistake)

Because a parallel conference was created in the 50s the AAWU focusing on academics but also there was a huge rift between the North schools and the Cal schools.

In this new conference Oregon, Oregon State and WSU joined up in the 1960s. But Idaho and Montana did not try to join. (Big Mistake) instead they went independent / to the big sky.

And the Pac 8 became the Pac 10 the year before Walden was hired with Arizona / ASU

So all that “they gonna throw us out of the Pac 10” was all bs. It had expanded just before Walden and as the land grant pairing and early members of the Pac and the AAWU WSU was never ever going to be dropped.

Idaho and Montana missed the opportunity to be in the Future Pac because they never sought (and were never invited to join the AAWU)

Walden was a master of bullsh*t. He made up fake problems and hardships to let people think he was more essential than he was.

WSU could have hired lots of people.

In fact former WSU assistant Jack Elway (yes John Elway’s dad) could have been hired as head coach.

Jim Walden was a classic example of WSU doing less with less because we chose less but people were too blind and hopped up on folksy stories and Busch light to realize it.

Which fake problems and hardships are you referring to? And if the home games to Pullman were going to happen, why did it take 30 plus years?

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Montana and Idaho and Montana State and Weber founded the Big Sky when Montana / Idaho left the original Pac and they weren’t offered / didn’t pursue the new one.

Montana left early for the Mountain States conference and Idaho was shunted when they made the AAWU. See the Mountain State conference has like BYU, Wyoming, Utah (essentially it they all left to create the WAC)

Which left Montana and Idaho deciding to just pick up and make their own conference the Big Sky.

The Definitely could have pushed to get in the AAWU had they agreed to meet the academic requirements. But Montana left the original Pac to play with Rocky Mountain teams, and Idaho thought they would get to come but had no partner to bring to the AAWU and didn’t know about the academic requirements.

Had Montana and Idaho joined up and agreed to the academic requirements the Pac 8 would have been the Pac 10.

Which would have suited the management because if the added Arizona and ASU it would have given them the north and south they always wanted. (North being

Idaho, Montana, Washington, WSU, Oregon, OSU.

South - UCLA, USC, Cal, Stanford, Arizona, ASU.

Games were always going to end up in Pullman. Walden just waived his arms and made it a big deal for show.

In 1975 (before Walden) the north side seats were added and in then in 1979 the track was removed and field lowered.

All this prep work was being done before Walden showed up. He just talked about playing games in Pullman when that was already the plan.

Your Montana and Idaho commentary has zero basis in any reality at all. Please provide one legitimate link that shows that Idaho and Montana were ever considered for the AAWU.

As for the stadium expansion talk.....Spokane Article about expansion

If you read the above link from an October 10th, 1978 article about the expansion, you'll see the following quote from Sam Jankovich: "Expansion in Pullman will not change our policy of playing two or three games each year in Spokane along with at least three each year in Martin Stadium". So, either Jankovich was lying or you are full of crap. Sorry to burst your bubble.

 

[CougEd]

No read the names I listed

Did you really say Dennis Erickson was one of the people who brought the winning mentality to WSU? You post of all the good players Walden inherited, the Mike Snows and Bob Gregors of the world( please tell me their stats in 1977, and if they even started...maybe they were inexperienced and Walden and staff developed them...remember that argument you made) take a peek what Erickson inherited. Three thousand yard backs, one tied Maye's single game rushing record, one was drafted to the NFL, Steve Broussard, Then there was Richard Calvin who started for Erickson and gained 800 yards. There was Timm R, Utley, Dyko, Mihalchik, Fakema (I wont send you into a seizure by saying Wulff) and two other experienced linemen. Doug Wellsandt and Chris Leighton at TE, Tim Stallworth at wr.

Defensively they had a "contributor" in Ivan Cook (he actually had more than one tackle in his career) Tim Downing, Mark Ledbetter, Randy Gray, Marlin Brown, Tony Savage, Brian Forde, Bobby Oneal, Ron Lee, Artie Holmes, James Hasty.

That being said, Walden won one more game in his first season than both Erickson and Leach had won, and lost 2 (3 actually but they now play one more game) fewer game than Leach had in his first season.

I will absolutely promise you anyone who watches college football would much rather have what Erickson inherited than what Walden had inherited. And it is not even close.

 

[Coug95man2]

Your Montana and Idaho commentary has zero basis in any reality at all. Please provide one legitimate link that shows that Idaho and Montana were ever considered for the AAWU.

As for the stadium expansion talk.....Spokane Article about expansion

If you read the above link from an October 10th, 1978 article about the expansion, you'll see the following quote from Sam Jankovich: "Expansion in Pullman will not change our policy of playing two or three games each year in Spokane along with at least three each year in Martin Stadium". So, either Jankovich was lying or you are full of crap. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Great link Flat.

If I might go off the rails a bit.
This is a continuing thought. What am I talking about? While there was certainly outside pressures back in the day (USC for example), there was also an internal mentality of having games in Spokane in order to expose non-fans to WSU or to get people involved more. Does this sound familiar anyone?

Seattle Games?

It's an interesting thought... If they hadn't done that years and years ago, for as long as they did, where would WSU be? Was that something that helped WSU? I'm inclined to say yes, honestly. Are we just in a different place now, where it isn't exactly NEEDED so we stay in Martin? Basically, it was successful to have the games in Spokane, so that they'd eventually follow down to Pullman? Crazy thoughts from a crazy guy.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Great link Flat.

If I might go off the rails a bit.
This is a continuing thought. What am I talking about? While there was certainly outside pressures back in the day (USC for example), there was also an internal mentality of having games in Spokane in order to expose non-fans to WSU or to get people involved more. Does this sound familiar anyone?

Seattle Games?

It's an interesting thought... If they hadn't done that years and years ago, for as long as they did, where would WSU be? Was that something that helped WSU? I'm inclined to say yes, honestly. Are we just in a different place now, where it isn't exactly NEEDED so we stay in Martin? Basically, it was successful to have the games in Spokane, so that they'd eventually follow down to Pullman? Crazy thoughts from a crazy guy.

In terms of fan development, the Spokane games may have been necessary at the time. People have argued that we should play a game there now when we have seven home games scheduled. It's always more complicated than it looks at a glance.

 

[fingerdisco]

Are you saying Ken Greene, Don Schwartz, Easom Ransom, Mike Levenseller, Brian Kelly, Dan Doornik, and Don Hover played for Walden? All drafted in 1978? He inherited Jack Thompson and no supporting cast.

You two can debate the Walden issue til the cows come home, but at the end of the day the real question that needs answering remains: who's your favorite Little Rascal, Alfalfa, or is it Spanky?

I'm guessing Spanky for the two of yous.

 

[CougEd]

You two can debate the Walden issue til the cows come home, but at the end of the day the real question that needs answering remains: who's your favorite Little Rascal, Alfalfa, or is it Spanky?

I'm guessing Spanky for the two of yous.

I hated the little rascals

 

[YakiCoug]

You two can debate the Walden issue til the cows come home, but at the end of the day the real question that needs answering remains: who's your favorite Little Rascal, Alfalfa, or is it Spanky?

I'm guessing Spanky for the two of yous.

I suspect Ed is more of an Alice in Wonderland guy...

 

[longtimecoug]

He's actually a preacher these days.

hiding behind a preachers robe doesn't undo or excuse his prior behavior

 

[CougEd]

hiding behind a preachers robe doesn't undo or excuse his prior behavior

He was a douche on campus. Are you talking about what he did at WSU ? Post WSU he was a body guard . That said, it was thirty years ago. People change . Was he ever charged for his actions ?

 

[Loyal Coug]

hiding behind a preachers robe doesn't undo or excuse his prior behavior

So LTC, I know nothing about this guy except for the WSM article below. What else did he do that makes him so unforgiveable?

http://wsm.wsu.edu/s/index.php?id=382