As the dust settles after the hiring of Paul Wulff at WSU, many fans have weighed in on the selection. Some absolutely love it, based on his excellence at the Division-1AA level (or is it the Football Sub-Division, to be politically correct?). But there are some that don't like it, and the leg they are standing on has to do with no success at the Division-1A level as either an assistant, a coordinator or a head coach. But to understand that Wulff is the right choice, there are a lot of facts to consider beyond just dismissing his lack of Division-1 successes. Wulff did turn in a 53-40 record at Eastern Washington University, a program with a tiny budget and a stadium smaller than many high school stadiums in Texas (capacity: 8,000). Out of eight seasons as head coach at EWU, he had seven winning years, and has taken the Eagles to the playoffs in three of the last four years. He's won Big Sky Coach of the Year honors on three occasions. His offenses are exciting and explosive, and he and his assistants have great reputations for "coaching 'em up". This year, his true sophomore QB, Matt Nichols, threw for an astounding 3744 yards and 34 touchdowns running a no-huddle spread offense. And the Eagles lost by just three points in the playoffs at Appalachian State, your three-time defending Division-1AA/Football Sub-Division champions.
All that stuff is great, but that's just what he's done on the field. Off the field, Wulff is a fascinating story of overcoming adversity at a very early stage of life.
Much has been written since Wulff was hired about his tough upbringing and the things he's had to overcome. Former coaches that had Wulff as a player, like Jim Walden, Dennis Erickson and Mike Price, have all sung the praises of Wulff about the character in the man and the things that have made him what he is today. But today, the Spokesman Review's story brought a lot of things to the forefront. It's hard to know where to start, but to consider this quote by athletic director Jim Sterk:"I think Paul's been refined by fire, both personally and then as a coach," Sterk said.
You could say that. Wulff grew up in Woodland, CA, and early in his life everything was normal. But life took a hard turn for the worse when at age 12, his mother Delores disappeared in the middle of the night without a trace. It's a very interesting unsolved mystery that is profiled here. As the story details, police immediately suspected Wulff's father, Carl, as the primary person of interest. Blood, hair and an earring were found in Carl's trunk, and the suspicion and evidence ultimately led to a murder charge and arrest in 1985. But after exhaustive searches, including digging up land, renting a plane with heat-seeking equipment to try and locate the body and the hiring of psychics, no body was ever produced. The murder charge was dismissed later in that same year, and his father never faced trial. Carl finally passed away in 2005, alone and estranged from his family. The sad part for Wulff is that he never got closure on what happened to his mother. Wulff's brother Carli went to his father's home after his death to go through his personal belongings, hoping to find a confession or some other details about what happened, but sadly, nothing was ever found.
A tough road to hoe for anyone, especially a kid of 12 years of age to have his mother disappear and his father as the prime suspect. You wouldn't wish that on anyone. And to not get the closure that many people need in times of tragedy is even worse. What if she's still alive? What if his father really didn't do it? Why couldn't he have just confessed so the family could turn the page? Even though the evidence points to what happened, it would have been good for Wulff and family to get the truth and move on. So that's a tough part in an already tough story. But unfortunately, there's more to Wulff's story of personal tragedy.
After a fine playing career at WSU, where Wulff won all-conference honors his senior year as a center in 1989, Wulff married his college sweetheart, Tammy. But as Wulff toiled as an assistant at EWU with very little money starting out, including living in a trailer, Tammy was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1997. After a difficult battle with the deadly disease, she finally lost her fight and died in his arms in 2002.
"It was like being shot in the gut," he said. "We were totally blindsided. That was where my life dramatically changed. Basically my faith had grown, and, being a born-again Christian, it woke me up. From that point forward, it changed me forever."
Now don't worry, there is some good news in all this! First, Wulff has since re-married and has what looks like a great marriage with his wife Sherry. They've built a family with three kids (the eldest daughter is from his wife's previous relationship, but they've had two kids since they've been married). And of course, professionally Wulff just landed the job that he's wanted since he played at WSU 20-something years ago.
Being the head coach at WSU is admittedly no easy task. Pullman is an isolated BCS school, 75 miles from Spokane and surrounded by wheat fields. WSU has the smallest stadium in the Pac-10, the lowest amount of football donors and the smallest football budget in the conference. Bells and whistles are part of what helps sell recruits on where to spend 5 years of their young lives, and WSU is at the end of the line in terms of "fluff". But things are changing in Pullman. The Cougars are right in the middle of a massive stadium renovation that will culminate in a modern facility that can sell a lot better with recruits, while fans will enjoy the enhanced gameday experience. When all is said and done, basically everything is going to be upgraded, from the bathrooms and concessions to a new scoreboard, stadium entrance, luxury seating, etc. WSU may not be at the top in terms of facilities, but it's starting to turn around.
So, based on everything we now know about Wulff, do you think any of the challenges are going to be a problem? If anything, he's going to do what he's always done in his life. Embrace the role of the underdog and run with it. The only conclusion you can make is that he's going to give everything he has to this job, and no, please don't feel sorry for him, because he's not feeling sorry for himself. He's a great example of a self-made success who could have just laid down and wallowed in his misfortunes, but instead, he dusted himself off, learned from some difficult experiences, and decided to keep pushing. If you want to bet against him, go right ahead. He's expecting it.
