|
Articles
|
Lucky Dawg; Lucky Dawgs
Gilbertson replaces Rick Neuheisel, who was fired from his job at Washington because of bets he placed in a March Madness basketball pool in 2002 and 2003. Seemingly, a default coaching selection, Gilbertson has been an assistant coach at Washington for seven seasons, sandwiching a head coaching job at Cal and an assistant-coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks in between his first three and last four seasons with the Dawgs - his first beginning in 1989 and his last ending in 2002. Before being named head coach, he served as manager of the football office, during Neuheisel’s suspension. Gilbertson was fired from his job at Cal after two consecutive losing seasons, and the negative stuff said about him by Cal insiders, which makes his credentials seem suspect, is troublesome. However, Barbara Hedges had little choice but to upgrade Gilby’s status. With the specter of a hostile media and the investigative arm of the NCAA haunting the program, the promotion of a low-profile, whistle-clean coach seems logical. The Dawgs should not miss a bark. Gilby is a Dawg. Furthermore, hiring a big-name coach away from another school, so close to the start of the season, would have played to the lack-of-institutional-control rap that some in the media, and possibly the NCAA, would like to wrap about the Huskies. In other words, keep it cool while the heat is on, promote an assistant coach from within, and then perform an outside search if Gilbertson pulls a Cal at the UW this upcoming season, or some other season. Incongruity assails Hedges’ last two hires. From Neu to Gilby, she (the UW) goes from an Agent 007 to a Lieutenant Columbo, from a juvenile delinquent to a senior citizen, and from a lawyer to a football coach, as some are saying. During interviews, Gilby sounds more like Lambo and the Dawgfather, rather than the glib Neuheisel. Writers won’t have the alliteration "glib Gilby" with which to flower their stories. Gilby chooses his words carefully, and they sound genuine. As long as Gilbertson is willing to placate influential alumni by attending fund raisers and a sundry of events expected of a head coach, he should do just fine. According to hearsay, however, that wasn’t his bag at Cal. Most coaches would rather be on the playing field, rather than be indoors with a passel of overachieving alums whose expectations trump reality. On and off the field, Gilby faces some daunting tasks. While the NCAA Infractions Committee jackhammers the purple pylons supporting Dempsey Indoor, Gilbertson needs to repair Washington’s football image with the NCAA, the media and the fans. At the same time, fans expect a winning team this year, with at least nine victories. Washington, USC and ASU are among the favorites to win the race for the Roses in 2003, according to most visionaries. To post nine or more victories, Gilbertson must revitalize a moribund running game, which sits at death’s door for multiple reasons, some of which he can correct, others which he cannot. His two losing seasons at Cal notwithstanding, Gilbertson bears a stunning credential: He comes from the “cradle of coaches,” Snohomish County, as do Mike Price, Jim Lambright, and Dennis Erickson, all coaches who were successful at one time or another in their careers. Gilbertson’s father, Keith, still coaches at Snohomish High School, and has coached there since 1950. Since 1908, each head football coach that has remained at Washington for more than one year has either been fired or has resigned under fire. When his time comes, will Coach Gilbertson be symbolically dispatched to the old Montlake garbage dump, where the spirits of Washington’s last two coaches, Jim Lambright and Rick Neuheisel, dodge phantom seagulls? Remember parking your car near the dump, then dashing across Montlake to attend an 8 AM class? Being the Huskies’ main man is about parking your car at Tubby Graves to chat with "Barbara," and having a dignified drive home at night. May Gilby enjoy the drive - while it lasts. ------------------- The Gilbertson Bio: His overall head coaching record is 48-35. It includes a three-year stint at Idaho (1986-1988), where he posted a 28-9 record, and four years at California (1995-1998) where his teams won 20 and lost 26 games. Gilbertson, or “Gilby" as fans call him, led the Vandals to an 11-2 record in 1988, the best mark in school history. That year, Idaho advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA semifinals, and he was named the Big Sky Conference coach of the year. His 1987 and 1988 teams won the Big Sky championships. Gilbertson attended Snohomish High School before going on to play football at Columbia Basin Junior College in 1967. He was a defensive lineman at Hawaii in 1969-70 before returning to earn his bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Central Washington in 1971. Gilbertson earned a degree in education from Western Washington in 1974. He and his wife, Barbara, have three children." History as player and coach: Overall head coaching record:
48-35 Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com |
||
|
