PULLMAN, Wash – Former Washington State University football players posted tributes online Friday, as news spread of the death of former WSU football coach Bill Doba.
CougFan reported that Doba died in Michigan, just days shy of his 86th birthday.
Doba started at WSU in 1989 as a position coach, moved up to defensive coordinator and became the head coach at the end of the 2002 season.
In his first season as head coach, Doba led the Cougs to the Holiday Bowl, capping the season with a win over Texas. WSU was ranked #9 in the country at the end of that season.
He led the Cougs until 2007, departing with an overall record of 30-29 as a head coach.
News of Doba’s death spread across social media Friday, with former players and others connected to WSU football posting tributes.
“Coach Doba was a tremendous Coug and an incredible friend and mentor, who we will miss dearly,” WSU Vice President / Director of Athletics Jon Haarlow said. “Our thoughts are with Coach Doba’s loved ones and the entire Cougar family during this difficult time.”
Spokane native and former WSU safety Eric Coleman posted on Instagram, “Today we lost a true Cougar legend. More importantly, I lost a coach who played a tremendous role in shaping me, not just as a football player, but as a man.”
“He took a chance on a little guy from Kennewick playing at that high level, but more than that he was a father figure for a lot of us without a dad or without a dad at home,” former WSU player Ron Childs told CougFan. “Even after our playing days, we’d talk — he was a father figure, a grandfather figure too.”
Doba was a father and grandfather. He lost his wife Judy to cancer in 2006.
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