Wulff familar with Palouse, Big Sky

Oct. 6—Cal Poly football coach Paul Wulff's roots are firmly entrenched in the Palouse.

The Mustangs' first-year skipper was a stalwart on Washington State's offensive line from 1986-89, and more than 10 years later, he would take over his alma mater for his second head coaching job.

"I look at my time as a player there," Wulff said. "Working for three different head coaches and a number of different assistants in my playing career propelled me to get here (Cal Poly)."

As the Davis, Calif., native, made his run to the big time, he earned a rub from a pair of Vandals in Dennis Erickson and Mike Kramer.

Erickson took the reins at Washington State in 1987 after spending three seasons at Idaho and becoming the program's all-time winningest coach.

It didn't take long for the Everett, Wash. native to find success at his dream job in Pullman, leading the Cougs to a 24-22 win over Houston in the Aloha Bowl in 1988. The victory gave WSU its first postseason victory in 63 years.

"We were a gritty football team," Wulff said. "I'm not going to say we were the old Raiders or anything. But we had fun as players and as a team, and we had a lot of confidence."

WSU entered the Christmas Day matchup in Hawaii as the clear underdog, having the conference's worst pass defense. But the Cougars managed to get two timely interceptions while holding Houston to less than 200 yards through the air.

"It was highly contested and competitive," Wulff said. "There was a big, massive fight that broke out as the clock hit triple zeros. That showed what a highly contested game it was. The coaches didn't care for it. But it was a fun game."

It was experiences like those on the Erickson-led squads that made coaching a clear path for the former offensive lineman.

"He's one of the biggest reasons I'm in coaching," Wulff said. "His competitive nature made football fun. I would always enjoy him and his passion and intensity about the game. I identify with that, and it was a blessing to have him as a coach."

After a pretty successful playing career at Washington State and a short pro stint, Wulff got his first taste of coaching as a volunteer assistant under Dick Zornes at Eastern Washington in 1993. Zornes retired at the end of the '93 season, a position that Kramer would fill.

Kramer, who had been coaching the Eagles' defensive line the year prior, played college football at Idaho from 1972-75.

Eastern Washington was the first head coaching gig for the Colton, Wash., native, who now has more than a decade of head coaching experience.

Kramer was also the one who officially gave Wulff his start in the coaching business, hiring him full-time as the Eagles offensive line coach.

"He put me under his wing and treated me like a brother," Wulff said. "He forced me into uncomfortable situations, and I had to learn from them, and there's no better way to learn. I'm forever grateful for him, and I would not be where I'm at if it weren't for him."

Kramer and Wulff were able to build a relationship that exceeded X's and O's, as the former multi-time HC was there for Wulff during a personal hardship.

Wulff's first wife, Tammy Allen, was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer in 1997, a condition she battled for over five years but passed away in March of 2002.

"When I think about Mike, I think about the hardest times as a coach in my personal life," Wulff said. "He showed true care and compassion for our situation. It's hard to tell you what an impact he showed me. To show true love and care for somebody like that. I'll never forget that. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to support me in a flash."

Wulff's role under Kramer would continue to expand over the years, adding offensive coordinator duties in 1998.

By 1999, Kramer was in line for a new head coaching job at Montana State, and Wulff was named as his successor.

In his eight seasons as the head man in Cheney, Wulff picked up two Big Sky Conference championships and made two appearances in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. He was also named the conference's coach of the year twice (2004 and 2005).

The 20-year coaching veteran wrapped up his time at Eastern with an overall record of 53-40 and left for his alma mater, Washington State, at the conclusion of the 2007 season.

Wulff's time at WSU left a lot to be desired, compiling a 9-40 record in four seasons at the helm. He was fired on Nov. 29, 2011, and left with the lowest winning percentage (.184) in school history.

"WSU didn't turn out how I wanted it to," Wulff said. "And there were bigger reasons for that. I know we did a lot of good things, and it was left in a tremendously better position than when we got there. But the internal rebuild was in place, and I felt really good about it."

After a disastrous tenure at Washington State, Wulff earned his first professional coaching job as an offensive assistant for the San Francisco 49ers in 2012.

After two quick stops at South Florida and Iowa State in 2014 and 2015, Wulff made his return to the Big Sky as an offensive line coach at Sacramento State in 2016. Since then, Wulff has remained in the conference, making two more stops at UC Davis and, of course, Cal Poly.

Before Wulff took over as the Mustangs headman, he was already on the coaching staff as the O-line coach. And while it's been a decade since his last head coaching gig, Wulff feels more in control and has the backing of the higher-ups.

"A lot of things that happened were out of my control," Wulff said. "The biggest thing for me was I didn't want to be in a position where I had no control over the whole thing. I didn't want to be a head coach again if I didn't have the control or the support."

This is Wulff's fourth Big Sky coaching stop, and on every FCS sideline he's been on, he's found success. But Wulf is the first to admit that this is not your parents' Big Sky Conference.

"This is clearly the power of FCS football right now, and it wasn't 10 years ago," Wulff said. "Now it's an elite conference, and it takes grit. If you don't have it, you're going to get run over."

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks