Opinion - Local football: Opportunities abound

Head football coach Pete Carroll is leaving the University of Southern California. He is leaving the PAC 10. He is leaving college athletics.

He is also leaving an NCAA investigation.

Carroll has announced that he is going to Seattle to coach the Seahawks.

His replacement has already been named. Lane Kiffen, coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, will replace Carroll. He is a former USC assistant coach and is also leaving behind some NCAA investigations at Tennessee.

Change and NCAA investigations are just part of the game. So are opportunities.

Although WSU may well invoke the Doba Paradox and give coach Paul Wulff a contract extension after his Apple Cup loss, change could be the best answer for the faltering football program at WSU. The school should encourage Wulff to take the Tennessee job. It would be a great opportunity for all involved.

To revive things at WSU, the school could snatch up Rob Akey. Long-time Cougar assistant coach and now head coach of University of Idaho, Akey could get the program up and running in little time. In this budget conscious era, he could save the school money simply because he already has Cougar outfits. Travel expenses would be low too. More important, he would never allow the Apple Cup to be permanently moved to Seattle. There is another thing in his favor: A season of two-point games would be exciting.

The opening at Idaho could be quickly filled by Dennis Erickson, secretly longing to stop by Moscow again. Erickson, who is reportedly living out of an 18-wheeler to make his moves easier, could be Moscow’s returning hero. And, if the roads are good, he could be on the job by the weekend. Mike Price, with several years of a clean credit card, could move back into the PAC 10 by replacing Erickson at Arizona State. His credentials are impeccable. The team he almost coached is National Champion.

Then, all would be right.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher