Wulff Pack No More

In a decision that came as a surprise to few, Washington State head football coach Paul Wulff was fired this afternoon after four seasons with the Cougs.

Rumors concerning Wulff's status with the program ran wild following their season-ending loss in the Apple Cup to rival Washington, with Wulff himself coming out and saying "the people that know football ... know I should keep the job." Despite the poor play on the field, it was clear that his players fought hard for him and remained tough through adversity that included a bevy of injuries, particularly at the quarterback position.

And although firing a head coach who finished his tenure with a record 9-40 is in no way a shocking move, I can't help but wonder if Washington State AD Bill Moos has truly made the right decision by firing Wulff.

Yes, the Cougars were and still are bad. They were bad when Wulff stepped foot on campus, and they've continued to be bad, albeit with signs of steady improvement. But in just the same way that Wulff arrived on campus, the next head coach at Washington State will inherit similar problems, with a roster that will have trouble competing with other schools in the Pac-12. Many have speculated that former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach is at the top of the Cougs' wishlist, but the notion that Leach would pass on higher-profile jobs at UCLA or ASU if he were offered them to take a job in Pullman is a bit ridiculous.

Bill Moos is a smart guy. In his press conference, he stated that there would be no place for accepting mediocrity within the football program, but rebuilding the Cougs into the teams it fielded in the early 90s and 2000s is still a monumental task. With the in-state rival Huskies continuing to recruit well under Steve Sarkisian as well as the recent title-contending level of play from Oregon and Stanford in the North, Washington State is in a precarious position. If they aren't able to get a coach who can become an immediate jolt to the program and shake up the North's balance of power in relatively short order, they could be facing similar slow results that ultimately led to Paul Wulff's downfall.

I'm not saying that it can't or won't happen. Moos could very well stimulate an influx of donors putting money into the program who understand his sense of urgency. Perhaps they even throw enough money at one of the big-name coaches on the market and convince him that the culture on the Palouse is changing, with Moos leading the charge. But considering some of the other jobs available, even just within the Pac-12 and their links to the most high-profile coaches on the market, it's tough to imagine the Cougs being able to steal away a Kevin Sumlin or Mike Leach from one of these major programs.

Paul Wulff may not have been the guy to turn around the Cougs' floundering football program, but Bill Moos can only hope that he finds the right one before the program is faced with another half-decade of mediocrity.