Former WSU football coach Doba dies

From news services

Former Washington State football coach Bill Doba has died at the age of 85.

Doba, a longtime defensive coordinator and five-year head coach of the Cougars (2003-07), worked 19 seasons at the Washington State coaching staff. Doba posted 30 wins including three Apple Cup victories his five seasons leading WSU.

According to cougfan.com, Doba died after suffering a stroke last weekend.

“Coach Doba was a tremendous Coug and an incredible friend and mentor, who we will miss dearly,” WSU athletic director Jon Haarlow said. “Our thoughts are with Coach Doba’s loved ones and the entire Cougar family during this difficult time.”

Doba became Washington State’s 30th head football coach Dec. 18, 2002, after serving as a Cougar assistant for 14 years. During that time WSU won two Pacific-10 Conference championships and made four bowl appearances, including two trips to the Rose Bowl. Doba’s appointment was the culmination of 40 years in the coaching profession at the high school and collegiate level.

In 2003, Doba’s first as WSU’s head coach, he won more games than any first-year coach in program history, reaching the 10-win plateau for the third straight season. No other Pacific-10 Conference school had back-to-back-to-back 10-win seasons since the early 1930s and for the feat, Doba shared Pac-10 Coach-of-the-Year honors with USC’s Pete Carroll.

Doba joined WSU as an assistant coach in 1989 and served as linebacker coach for Mike Price’s Cougar teams for 14 years. He was named assistant head coach in 1991 and defensive coordinator in 1994, and succeeded Price as head coach at the end of the 2002 season.

At WSU, Doba coached future NFL linebackers Mark Fields, Chris Hayes, James Darling, Rob Childs and Steve Gleason. As defensive coordinator from 1994-2002, Doba mentored eight players named first team all-conference, six All-Americans, and 2002 Outland Trophy winner Rien Long.

In Doba's first year as head coach, the Cougars finished second in the Pac-10 Conference and then recorded the biggest bowl victory in the history of the program. WSU’s defeat of Texas in the Holiday Bowl was its first over a top-five program since 1988.

The 2003 Cougars featured a defense that led the nation in takeaways (48) and fumble recoveries (24), and finished second nationally in interceptions (24). WSU was also in the top 10 in pass efficiency defense and rushing defense. Doba’s guidance resulted in a No. 9 national finish in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today polls.

In 1994, Doba’s first season as defensive coordinator, the Cougs finished second in the nation in total defense, yielding 229 yards per game, and third in rushing and scoring defense. The “Palouse Posse,” spearheaded by all-conference performers in linebacker Mark Fields, defensive end DeWayne Patterson, and defensive tackles Chad Eaton and Don Sasa, capped a 9-3 season by holding Baylor to just 151 yards total offense and three points in an Alamo Bowl victory.

In 2001, the Cougars racked up 40 sacks and grabbed 26 interceptions, second only to national champion Miami. During the Cougars’ run to the roses in 2002, WSU broke the school record for sacks with 55, and led the conference in rushing defense, surrendering just 152 yards on the ground over the final five contests.

Doba entered the college ranks in 1977, joining former ESPN College GameDay host Lee Corso’s staff at Indiana University. He coached outside linebackers for five seasons and spent one season tutoring the quarterbacks and receivers. In 1979, the Hoosiers went 8-4 and knocked off Brigham Young in the Holiday Bowl.

In 2001, Doba, a native of South Bend, Ind., was inducted into the Indiana sports hall of fame.

According to WSU, after leaving Washington State following the 2007 season, Doba returned to the Midwest to be closer to his family. His wife, Judy, died of ovarian cancer in 2006. The couple had three children: Scott, Kristen and Beth.