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Articles
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By Richard Linde, 2 Novmeber 2004
Remember that injuries and inexperience took their toll on this year's team. Injuries to three of the senior co-captains -- OT Khalif Barnes, FB Zach Tuiasosopo and WR Charles Frederick -- were devastating. Not having one quarterback take charge and run the show further crippled an offense built on a makeshift offensive line. Just today it was announced that TE Jon Lyon would need surgery on a broken hand suffered during a blocking drill, making him the ninth player to have surgery this season. "Gilby apologizer" is an Internet tag given to those defending Gilby's record. Er, hum. Excuse me; call me a Gilby apologist. Some fans are still upset by Rick Neuheisel's firing and others mortified at Gilbertson's 1-7 season. Others will tell you that Gilbertson (7-13 at the 'Dub) was nothing more than an interim coach, as he himself will say. In reality, terminating the contract with Gilby gives a new leader more time to right the floundering Husky ship; whereas, Gilbertson was on a short leash because of his past fifteen months at the helm. The clock was ticking away for him, and boosters and fans were growing more anxious as the losses mounted, washing away long-standing records. Fair or not, his negative imagery as a losing coach and as a guy apparently on his way out was affecting recruiting, some local nuggets looking to schools other than Washington. In my mind, Gilby's coaching competence still goes unquestioned. He’s a coach among coaches, a coach's coach of the blue-collar variety who teaches hard-nosed football. "The best part of my day is when I go down that tunnel and go to practice,” he says, never the glamour boy that former coach Rick Neuheisel was. As fund raisers will tell you, Neuheisel was a "cultivator" when it came to wooing wealthy alumni. But the job was weathering on Gilbertson, both mentally and physically. He'll need a hip replacement operation at the end of the season. At times during the season, he looked confused and helpless as he stood on the sidelines with headphones off his ears, contouring his face. Those headphones say I'm the head coach, but am I? On Internet message boards, fans ridiculed his appearance, making fun of his weight and sideline demeanor. He wore a UW coach's jacket, with dangling hood, at the USC game in Los Angeles on a warm, balmy day. At 56, he was hardly aging gracefully, I guess, but not everyone does, some better than others, Gilbertson, most likely, in the middle somewhere. At best those personal criticisms were cheap shots and uncalled for. The moment the new athletic director and president came on board, Gilbertson was a marked man. At the Stanford game, they walked the sidelines, patrolling the Husky bench, watching closely, sometimes conversing animatedly with one another. You have to feel sorry for Gilby. A terrible poker player, Gilbertson mostly says it like it is, sometimes wearing his emotions on his sleeve. “Who made you the head coach?” he once asked an annoying reporter. Neuheisel, trained as a lawyer, could talk for an hour and say nothing, not giving anyone anything to write about, which in his case was the right thing to do. “I do love this place. I have a great passion for Husky football. I do feel I made a contribution, but this was not a dream situation,” said Gilbertson at yesterday’s news conference, called in response to his resignation, which will take place at the end of the season. * Jeff Tedord (Cal), Urban Meyer (Utah), Gary Pinkel (Missouri), Dan Hawkins (Boise State), Jimbo Fisher (LSU) and Norm Chow (USC) are among a list of candidates mentioned to fill the UW vacancy. * “It was a very difficult play he (Gilbertson) was assigned to run,” said AD Todd Turner. “We gave him the ball on fourth-and-goal, but we didn’t block for him.” Born in the cradle of coaches (Snohomish County, Washington), Gilbertson (56) can point to a lineage that goes back four generations at Washington. At Picture Day last August, Gilby said, "It is nice to see you again, young man." He remembered me from Olympia the year before and, as always, made me feel better about myself. Upbeat, full of confidence about this year's team, he answered a few questions of mine and then posed for a picture, the beefy arm around me seemingly hugging a long lost buddy. I’ll never forget his enthusiasm for coaching and his love of the job. What this tumultuous season has done to him shouldn't happen to any coach. None of what happened was his fault; yet it was time for him to move on. Now it's time for the UW to sever all ties with the past and start fresh. With the exit of Gilbertson, the Don James era has ended. In fact, it ended long ago, just as the Gil Dobie era ended when president Henry Suzzalo fired him -- and Gloomy Gil's record (58-0-3) is the best in college football history. I can only wish the best for my old friend. -------------------- * Three weeks before the 2003 season, Gilbertson took over for Rick Neuheisel, who was fired for both lying about his interview with the San Francisco 49ers and for initially lying to NCAA investigators during their interview concerning his participation in two auctions involving NCAA basketball. His secondary recruiting violations at Washington and at Colorado also figured into his termination, along with the auctions, which were to have provided further grounds for termination if he should have been found guilty of violating NCAA rules. Exculpatory internal memos written by the compliance director at the UW, which permitted participation in gambling pools, proved mitigating. This effectively freed Neuheisel from any NCAA penalties, along with the fact he told the truth the same day he lied to investigators. Neuheisel has lawsuits pending against Washington and the NCAA. Washington is suing Neuheisel for repayment of a $1.5 million loan. Because of the lawsuits, it seems unlikely that the free-to-coach-again Neuheisel will take over for Gilbertson. The stigma of having once gambled will be hard for him to overcome. Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com |
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If
the Huskies should beat Arizona and WSU and finish eighth in the conference,
isn't that more or less where the Pac-10 writers predicted they'd finish
before the season started? If that should be the
case, how can anyone blame Coach Keith Gilbertson for lacking the de facto
horses necessary to plow the field?