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Opinion: Jim Riley | |||||||||||
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Nothing will be the same Fans of Washington State University football can only wish Mike Price well when he today accepts one of the top coaching jobs in college football at Alabama. Price did remarkable things at WSU, taking the Cougs to two Rose Bowls, a feat unfathomable in the Palouse less than a decade ago. There will be those killjoys squawking about Price being a poor fit at Alabama, and they may be right. They were also the ones who thought former Cougar coach Dennis Erickson would never do anything at Miami. Of course, all Erickson did was lead the Hurricanes to a national championship before accepting a head coaching job in the NFL. Maybe Price will do the same for the Crimson Tide. One thing is certain: The job Price leaves will be different than the one he takes over in Tuscaloosa. At Washington State, Price's job was to persuade top athletes to attend a school decidedly lacking any tradition as a college football powerhouse. At Alabama, Price's job will be to select the best athletes to play at a school that has won seven national championships. At Washington State, Price's job was to take chances on players with either marginal academic qualifications or questionable character and mold them into solid students, citizens and athletes. At Alabama, Price's job will be to take the best athletes in the country and keep their egos in check, and make sure they don't fall victim to the temptations that inevitably arise with the NFL, and its riches, so close at hand. At Washington State, Price's job was often to design trick plays so his teams with inferior talent would have a chance to pull off an upset. At Alabama, Price's job will be to make sure that the team with the most talent always wins, trick plays be damned. At Washington State, Price's job was to be competitive, to keep those wearing crimson from turning crimson. At Alabama, Price's job will be to win big enough so those wearing Crimson are fit to be Tide. At Washington State, there is such a thing as a moral victory. At Alabama, an exceptional game without a win just won't cut it. At Washington State, football is a passion, but success always something of a surprise. At Alabama, football is a religion, losing a disgrace. At Washington State, 36,000 people at Martin Stadium is sellout. At Alabama, 36,000 at 83,000-seat Bryant-Denny Stadium is a scrimmage. At Washington State, Price has almost always been the underdog. At Alabama, Price will need a strong reserve quarterback just to cover the spread. At Washington State, Price walked in the shadow of no previous coach. At Alabama, Price will be dwarfed by the legend that is Paul Bear Bryant. At Washington State, Price's folksy humor plays well with media in Spokane, Tri-Cities and the odd reporter from Seattle who might straggle in. At Alabama, Price's won't be able to use words such as "pissivity" without a dozen national commentators wondering where he got his vocabulary. At Washington State, Price survived a three-season drought of 10-24 after taking his team to the Rose Bowl in 1998. At Alabama, two losing seasons brings a calls for a blindfold and a firing squad. At Washington State, Price could walk across the street and have a motorist stop and commiserate about the loss to Washington in the Apple Cup. At Alabama, a loss to Auburn means a wardrobe change that includes a bullet-proof vest. At Washington State, football is a game. At Alabama, football isn't life or death. It's much more important than
that.
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