Bill Doba

Last updated

Bill Doba
Biographical details
Born (1940-09-07) September 7, 1940 (age 83)
South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
Alma mater Ball State College, 1962
Playing career
1959–1960 Ball State
Position(s) Halfback, defensive back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1962–1964 Goshen HS (IN) (assistant)
1965–1966 Angola HS (IN) (assistant)
1968–1970Goshen HS (IN)
1971–1976 Mishawaka HS (IN)
1977–1982 Indiana (assistant)
1983–1986 Purdue (assistant)
1987–1988 Citadel (DC/OLB)
1989–1990 Washington State (LB)
1991–1993Washington State (AHC/LB)
1994–2002Washington State (AHC/DC/LB)
2003–2007Washington State
Head coaching record
Overall30–29 (.517)
Bowls1–0
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Pac-10 Coach of the Year (2003)

William Anthony Doba (born September 7, 1940) is a former American football coach. He is the former head coach at Washington State University, where he led the Cougars for five seasons, from 2003 through 2007, and was fired on November 26. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and career

Born in South Bend, Indiana, Doba grew up in New Carlisle and graduated from New Carlisle High School in 1958. He played halfback and defensive back for two years at Ball State College in Muncie before hip injuries derailed his college football career. After graduating from Ball State, he started his coaching career at Goshen High School in Indiana as an assistant. After two years there, he worked as the head coach at Angola High School for two years, then went back to Goshen High for three years as the head coach. During this time, he earned a master's degree from Western Michigan University in physical education. His high school coaching career ended with a six-year stay at Mishawaka High School in Indiana, where he led his 1974 team to the big school state championship game. [3]

Moving to the college ranks, Doba became an assistant to Lee Corso at Indiana University for six years, coaching linebackers for five years and quarterbacks/wide receivers for one. He moved to Purdue University to work as the outside linebackers coach for three years and the tight end/tackles coach for one year. He left Purdue to become defensive coordinator at The Citadel in South Carolina, his first job outside the state of Indiana. He left The Citadel after two years to join the staff of new head coach Mike Price at Washington State University in Pullman. [3]

At Washington State

In 1989, Doba became the linebackers coach at Washington State under Price. In 1991, he became a defensive assistant. In 1994, he became defensive coordinator and also reclaimed his linebackers coaching job. After Price left Washington State for the University of Alabama at the end of the 2002 season, Doba was named head coach, and took office immediately following the Rose Bowl. [4] [5]

In his first season as head coach in 2003, Doba led the Cougars to a 10–3 record, with a Holiday Bowl win over Texas and a #9 final ranking. He shared the Pac-10 Coach of the Year award in 2003 with Pete Carroll of USC. The Holiday Bowl win was a high point of Doba's tenure and was one of the top wins in WSU history. His teams won three of five Apple Cup rivalry games against Washington, in 2004, 2005, and 2007.

Unfortunately, the Cougars slumped after their sterling 2003 season, and Doba was unable to put together another winning team. Their 42–35 victory in the 100th Apple Cup in 2007 was not enough to save Doba's job. It was announced that Doba would not return for the 2008 season after compiling a 5–7 record for the 2007 season, the Cougars' fourth straight non-winning season. [1] (WSU was 6–6 in 2006, but not invited to a bowl game.) He departed with an overall record of 30–29 (.508) and was 17–25 (.405) in conference play.

Personal

Doba and his late wife, Judy, were married for over forty-three years and had three children, a son and two daughters. Judy Doba died on April 21, 2006, after a four-year battle with ovarian cancer. [6] [7] [8]

Doba was inducted into the Mishawaka Hall of Fame in 1986, and later inducted into the Indiana Hall of Fame in 2001. He left Pullman and returned to the Midwest to be closer to his children and grandchildren, and resides in southwestern Michigan at Birch Lake, near Vandalia. [9]

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffs Coaches#AP°
Washington State Cougars (Pacific-10 Conference)(2003–2007)
2003 Washington State 10–36–22ndW Holiday 99
2004 Washington State 5–63–57th
2005 Washington State 4–71–7T–8th
2006 Washington State 6–64–5T–5th
2007 Washington State 5–73–6T–7th
Washington State:30–2917–25
Total:30–29

Related Research Articles

Mark Fields is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He had a ten-year career with the New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams, and the Carolina Panthers before missing the 2005 NFL season due to being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma for the second time in three seasons and subsequently retiring.

Michael Bruce Price is a former American football coach. He was the head coach at Weber State College from 1981 to 1988, Washington State University from 1989 to 2002, and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 2004 to 2012. Price returned to UTEP as interim head coach for the final seven games of the 2017 season. He was hired at the University of Alabama in December 2002, but was fired before coaching a game in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Cougars</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Washington State University

The Washington State Cougars are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program comprises ten women's sports and seven men's intercollegiate sports, and also offers various intramural sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 2007 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Bill Doba and played its home games on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, with one at Qwest Field in Seattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Cougars football</span> Football team of Washington State University

The Washington State Cougars football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). Known as the Cougars, the first football team was fielded in 1894.

Christopher Joseph Tormey is a former American football coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robb Akey</span> American football player and coach (born 1966)

Robb Alan Akey is an American football coach. He is the defensive coordinator at Central Michigan University, a position he had held since 2019. Akey served as the head football coach at the University of Idaho from 2007 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Jackson (defensive back)</span> American football player (1950–1997)

Bernard Frank Jackson was an American football defensive back who played for three National Football League (NFL) teams. He was the 81st pick in the 1972 NFL Draft, selected by the Cincinnati Bengals as a defensive back. After five years, he was traded to the Denver Broncos in March 1977, and was a starter, including Super Bowl XII.

Patrick Jesse Beach is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons for the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and Phoenix Cardinals. He played college football at Washington State University in Pullman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bert Clark</span> American gridiron football player and coach (1930–2004)

Robert B. Clark Jr. was an American gridiron football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Washington State University for four seasons, from 1964 to 1967.

LaVern Earl "Torgy" Torgeson was an American football player and coach. He played college football for Washington State from 1948 through 1950. Torgeson played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, principally as a linebacker, for the Detroit Lions from 1951 to 1954 and for the Washington Redskins from 1955 to 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 2002 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University as a member of Pacific-10 Conference the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by Mike Price in his 14th and final season as head coach, and played its home games on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Wulff</span> American football player and coach (born 1967)

Paul Louis Wulff is an American football coach and former player. In December 2022, he was appointed head coach at California Polytechnic State University. Wulff previously served as the head coach at Eastern Washington University from 2000 to 2007 and at Washington State University from 2008 to 2011, compiling an overall record of 62–80. As a student-athlete, he played on the offensive line at Washington State during the late 1980s, earning honorable mention All-American honors following his senior season in 1989.

Jason John Gesser is an American college football former player and assistant athletic director who is currently the offensive coordinator at Seton Catholic High School in Vancouver, Washington. He played quarterback for Washington State Cougars, Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League (AFL), Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). After his playing career ended, Gesser went into coaching. In 2012 he was the interim head coach of the Idaho Vandals. From 2014 to 2018 he was the assistant athletic director at Washington State.

Frederick Charles Brayton, usually known as Chuck Brayton or Bobo Brayton, was an American college baseball head coach; he led the Washington State Cougars for 33 seasons, from 1962 to 1994. He is the winningest coach in school history, with a record of 1,162 wins, 523 losses and eight ties—the fourth-best total in NCAA history at the time he retired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 1992 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Mike Price, the Cougars were 8–3 in the regular season, won their bowl game, and outscored their opponents 337 to 281.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 1985 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth season under head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled a 4–7 record, and outscored their opponents 313 to 282. Home games were played on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

The 1993–94 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State University for the 1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by seventh-year head coach Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars were members of the Pacific-10 Conference and played their home games on campus at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington.

The 1983–84 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State University for the 1983–84 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by first-year head coach Len Stevens, the Cougars were members of the Pacific-10 Conference and played their home games on campus at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington.

To "Coug it" is a tendency of the Washington State University Cougars football team to lose games via late-game collapses, odds-defying losses, "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory", and otherwise choking.

References

  1. 1 2 Grippi, Vince (November 27, 2007). "Doba done at WSU". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
  2. Potts, Marcus (November 27, 2007). "The end of the road". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. p. 1B.
  3. 1 2 "Bill Doba". WSUCougars.com. Washington State University. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  4. Strickland, Bill (December 18, 2002). "Doba will take reins for Cougars". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
  5. Richardson, Vince (December 18, 2002). "Southern comfort". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. p. 1A.
  6. Moore, Jim (April 30, 2006). "Judy Doba was more than a coach's wife". Eugene Register-Guard. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). p. D4.
  7. Kasses, Glenn (April 22, 2006). "Wife of WSU football coach Doba dies". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
  8. "Judith Doba". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. obituary. April 22, 2006. p. 4A.
  9. Blanchette, John (April 16, 2012). "Doba's had full life after football". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved October 7, 2014.