DOBA AWAITS TAKING OVER ASSISTANT'S PATIENCE PAYS OFF.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

PASADENA - The next 14 years of Bill Doba's life were shaping up to look strikingly similar to the previous 14.

All it took was 30 minutes to change the view in the windshield.

As Washington State coach Mike Price's most trusted assistant, Doba quietly engineered the defenses for Price's teams, ducking under the radar even when Price pitched Doba's name for head-coaching vacancies.

And as the years passed, and the label of career assistant stuck ever more snugly to Doba, there was little reason to believe he'd be anything but the defensive coordinator at Washington State.

``I wasn't sure I'd be the head coach ever,'' said Doba, who joined Price's inaugural staff in Pullman in 1989. ``Anybody who coaches wants to be a head coach. I always thought my time had passed.''

There was good reason to believe so. The phone never rang when Price urged Ball State (Doba's alma mater) and Indiana to contact Doba, a native of South Bend, Ind., for their job openings.

Then, on the afternoon of Dec. 17, Doba was summoned to Price's office. And 14 years of stability quickly became a blur.

``Price called me in at 3:30,'' Doba recalls. ``(Athletic director) Jim Sterk came in at 4. Mike said, `I'm going to Alabama, and you're going to be the head coach.' ''

Just like that, a dream he had given up on became a startling reality.

And soon, what once was routine will become secondary. Designing schemes will take a backseat to schmoozing with boosters and spinning the media. Counseling players might have to wait, at least until the latest stop on the rubber-chicken circuit has been fulfilled.

The 62-year-old coach is going to have to learn some new tricks, starting immediately after Price coaches the Cougars in Wednesday's Rose Bowl game against Oklahoma.

``He's a little reserved right now,'' said Cougars defensive tackle Rien Long, the Outland Trophy winner. ``He's not used to this. But that's going to change. It's a challenge, but he's up for it. He's looking forward to opening it up, being a PR guy.''

In 1994, Doba's first season as defensive coordinator, the Cougars went 8-4, won the Copper Bowl and held eight opponents to a touchdown or less. He has helped recruit and develop several eventual NFL players like linebacker Mark Fields and, more recently, defensive backs Lamont Thompson and Billy Newman.

``He's the best defensive coordinator in the country,'' Price said.

Perhaps more significant, he's been able to foster trusting relationships with his charges.

``He's a guy you can talk to any time,'' said Marcus Trufant, the Cougars' All-American cornerback. ``He knows how to relate to players, how to talk to us. He's a very down-to- earth-type coach.''

Doba spent 14 years coaching high school football in Indiana, and he's a member of the state's football hall of fame. His first college coaching job came at Indiana, and he also worked at Purdue and The Citadel.

Current Purdue coach Joe Tiller worked with Doba in a previous stint at Purdue. When Tiller joined Price's Cougars staff in '89, he recommended Doba for Price's vacant linebacker coach position. By 1991, Doba was assistant head coach, and he was named defensive coordinator in '94.

He's by no means green, and Price said Doba is tougher and more prepared than many think. After all, Doba has been alongside Price for all of the Cougars' peaks and valleys of the past decade - like a '98 Rose Bowl appearance followed by three losing seasons, followed by two 10- win seasons.

``He's got a thick coat,'' Price said. ``He can take hits, take tough times. He's strong through adversity. He's got all the ingredients - integrity, character, a sense of humor - that you'd need. He's much more prepared than I was.''

Good thing. If he wasn't, the most tumultuous 30 minutes of his recent life might have blindsided him.

``It changed drastically in a half-hour's time,'' Doba said. ``I'll learn as I go along, but I'm not Mike Price. I've been watching him for 14 years.''

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Washington State's Bill Doba will become head coach after Mike Price goes to Alabama.

Keith Birmingham/Staff Photographer