| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1946-04-06)April 6, 1946 (age 79) Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1965–1966 | Washington State |
| 1967–1968 | Puget Sound |
| Positions | Quarterback,defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1969–1970 | Washington State (GA) |
| 1971–1973 | Puget Sound (OC) |
| 1974–1977 | Washington State (RB) |
| 1978–1980 | Missouri (QB/WR) |
| 1981–1988 | Weber State |
| 1989–2002 | Washington State |
| 2003[a] | Alabama |
| 2004–2012 | UTEP |
| 2017 | UTEP (interim HC) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 176–190 |
| Bowls | 3–5 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2Pac-10 (1997, 2002) | |
| Awards | |
| Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award (1997) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1997) Home Depot Coach of the Year Award (1997) Sporting News College Football COY (1997) 2×Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1997, 2001) | |
Michael Bruce Price (born April 6, 1946) is an American formercollege football coach. He was the head football coach atWeber State College from 1981 to 1988,Washington State University from 1989 to 2002, and theUniversity of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 2004 to 2012. Price returned to UTEP as interim head coach for the final seven games of the 2017 season. He was hired at theUniversity of Alabama in December 2002, but was fired before coaching a game in2003.
Born inColorado, Price grew up inEverett, Washington,[1] 25 miles (40 km) north ofSeattle. He was the son of Walt Price, the longtime head football coach at Everett Junior College. AtEverett High School,[2] Price was a teammate ofDennis Erickson,[3] the son of Pinky Erickson, the head coach at cross-town rivalCascade High. Everett High was coached by Bill Dunn, a next-door neighbor of the Ericksons. Dennis Erickson was a year behind Price, but took his job as starting quarterback midway through Price's senior year, and Price was moved to defense as a safety. The team finished 9–1. Price went on to play at Everett Junior College,Washington State, and finally atPuget Sound, where he co-captained the football team and was a member of thePhi Delta Thetafraternity.[4]
Price met his wife, the former Joyce Taylor, inkindergarten in the early 1950s. They were married at age 19 and they had three children: two sons (who were his assistant coaches) and a daughter.
Price started his coaching career in1969 as agraduate assistant for two seasons at Washington State, then was theoffensive coordinator at hisalma mater, UPS, for three.[5] He returned to WSU for four seasons in1974 as the running backs coach, and in his first months on staff landed what would be one of the greatest recruits in school history, quarterback Jack Thompson out of Evergreen High in Seattle.[6] Price also successfully recruited futurebaseballhall-of-famerRyne Sandberg to playquarterback for the Cougars but Sandberg chose to sign a contract out of high school with the Philadelphia Phillies.[7] His final job as an assistant was atMissouri under head coachWarren Powers, where he coached the quarterbacks and wide receivers for three years, from1978 to1980.
Following the 1980 season, Price landed his first head coaching position atWeber State of theBig Sky Conference, a job for which friend Dennis Erickson was also a finalist. Erickson would get theIdaho job the next year, and returned the favor (following the1986 season) by beating out Price for the Washington State job. Upon leaving just two years later forMiami, Erickson recommended Price, who got the WSU job and then rented Erickson's Pullman home. Price was at Weber State through 1988, compiling a 46–44 (.511) record in eight seasons. His best year was 1987, when the Wildcats went 9–2 (6–1 in conference), and advanced to the quarterfinals of theDivision I-AA playoffs to finish at 10–3.
In March 1989, Price was hired by WSU Athletic Director Jim Livengood to be head coach of theWashington State team. Price and Livengood had been friends since 1964 when they both played quarterback at Everett Junior College. Price was chosen over former Washington assistant coach Ray Dorr.[8]
On the field, Price was noted for his historic success atWashington State, where he served for fourteen seasons (1989–2002) and compiled a 83–78 (.516) record, with three ten-win seasons and five bowl appearances. His last two seasons at "Wazzu" combined for a 20–5 record (13–3 in thePac-10). Price's 2002 team compiled a 7–1 mark in the conference and advanced to theRose Bowl, where they were defeated by theOklahoma Sooners 34–14. Five years earlier in1997, Price was named National Coach of the Year, as theCougars returned to theRose Bowl after more than sixty years. Price, who also guided WSU to the 2003 Rose Bowl, calls the 1998 Rose Bowl his greatest coaching achievement.[9] During his tenure at Washington State, he mentored some of the greatest players in the school's history, includingquarterbacksDrew Bledsoe,Ryan Leaf, andJason Gesser.
Prior to his departure, Price had recently signed a five-year contract at a base salary of $600,000 per year. With incentives, his compensation exceeded $900,000 in his final season at WSU.[10] His original contract in 1989 was a four-year deal at $75,000 per year with unspecified television and radio revenues.[11]
Price may be best known nationally for an off-the-field incident during his brief stint atAlabama. In December 2002, he was hired in principle to replaceDennis Franchione as the head coach of theCrimson Tide. Price was at Alabama during the2003 spring practice, but in May his contract was rescinded shortly after news reports surfaced of Price being seen at a strip club during a trip toPensacola, Florida, where Price was playing in agolf tournament, and he also had about $1,000 charged to his hotel room by an unknown woman staying in the room. This development came on the heels of an earlier reprimand for visiting campus-area bars and drinking into the early hours inTuscaloosa.[12][13]
On December 21, 2003,Texas-El Paso announced the hiring of Price as its new head coach.[14]
In his first season in2004, he led the Miners to an 8–4 record and a berth in theHouston Bowl, where they lost toColorado. It was a significant turnaround for the Miners, who had won only two games in each of their previous three seasons. UTEP earned its first-ever ranking in theAP Poll in 2004, rising as high as 23rd in early November. Price was a finalist forEddie Robinson Award and thePaul "Bear" Bryant Award for coach of the year. His starting salary at UTEP in 2004 was $225,000 plus incentives.[15]
In2010, Price became the second coach to take UTEP to three bowl games, afterMike Brumbelow, who led the Miners to the hometownSun Bowl after the1953,1954, and1956 seasons.[16]
Days before the final game of the2012 season, Price announced his retirement.[17] He returned as interim coach midway through the2017 season following the departure ofSean Kugler, who had resigned after the fifth game; UTEP went winless for the season.
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