Bill Doba, the longtime Washington State football coach and defensive coordinator, died Friday, Aug. 28, the university announced. He was 85.
Doba suffered a stroke the previous Saturday, according to 247Sports. He was days short of his 86th birthday.
Born Sept. 7, 1940, in South Bend, Indiana, Doba attended New Carlisle High School and played football at Ball State before a hip injury ended his playing career. He began coaching at the high school level in Indiana in 1962, working as an assistant at Goshen and Angola before becoming a head coach at Goshen and then Mishawaka.
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In six seasons at Mishawaka, Doba’s teams went 46-15-1. He led the school to the 1974 state championship game, and was later inducted into the Mishawaka and Indiana football halls of fame.
Doba took his first college coaching job in 1977 on Lee Corso’s staff at Indiana. He later spent four seasons at Purdue before becoming defensive coordinator at The Citadel in 1987. Two years later, he joined Mike Price’s staff at Washington State.
Doba spent 19 seasons at WSU, first coaching linebackers, then serving as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. His defenses helped Washington State win two Pac-10 championships and reach two Rose Bowls during Price’s tenure.
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In 1994, his first season as defensive coordinator, the Cougars finished second nationally in total defense. His players included several future NFL linebackers, and he coached 2002 Outland Trophy winner Rien Long.
After Price left for Alabama, Doba became Washington State’s 30th head coach in December 2002.
His first season was the high point of his five-year tenure. The Cougars went 10-3 in 2003, finished second in the Pac-10, and defeated No. 5 Texas in the Holiday Bowl. Washington State finished No. 9 nationally, and Doba shared Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors with USC’s Pete Carroll.
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Doba went 30-29 as WSU’s head coach from 2003 through 2007, winning three Apple Cups. He left the program after the 2007 season and later returned to the Midwest, settling in southwestern Michigan near his children and grandchildren. His wife, Judy, died of cancer in 2006.
Doba regularly returned to Pullman for games and events, including an appearance waving the Cougar flag on ESPN’s “College GameDay” in 2024.
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