Coach Price ain't going anywhere, bitches...
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sport...orts-headlines
[i]MEMPHIS -- For the longest period of his life, Mike Price thought he'd coach at Washington State until he was ready to put his whistle away for good.
Then Alabama came calling . . . and went dumping nearly as quickly.
When UTEP resurrected Price's spirit and career in December 2003, almost no one believed it would last. He'd turn the Miners around, he'd win and then he'd go. That's what big-time coaches do.
But Price isn't a big-time coach any more. Big-time coaches get caught up in their big-time contracts and big-time careers. And all Price wants, right next to a fun, winning football program, is to be a big-time grandfather.
In El Paso, Texas
"I could see him here [in 10 years]," said Price's son Eric, the Miners' offensive coordinator. "I haven't asked him about his professional goals lately, but I don't hear him talking about going other places. He's really taken to UTEP and people have really taken to him. They've treated him really well. He doesn't take that lightly."
A match made on the Internet just might last.
As Price put himself back together after being buried under a Crimson Tide of X-rated publicity following a public and humiliating exit from Alabama, he learned how to surf the World Wide Web. He called about job openings, then went surfing for down-home news. He discovered the creative and cruel world of sports message boards.
When news got out that Price was a possible candidate for School A, the coach read what fans were thinking. Most of the time, he didn't read for long. He wasn't wanted.
UTEP fans were different. According to Price, they were less concerned about his night in bed with a Pensacola stripper named Destiny than about their own problems -- namely, a football program that had gone 2-9, 2-10 and 2-11 the previous three seasons.
UTEP Athletic Director Bob Stull, a former coach, convinced school President Diana Natalico to take a chance. Price infused the Miners with confidence and a passing game, and eight victories later they were bowl bound.
"It's not all about me anymore," Price said. "It's about my wife and my family and my kids and my football family. It's about the university that gave me a second chance. An athletic director and president that gave me a second chance. They gave me an opportunity, and I took advantage of it."
Price pulled together a coaching staff of friends and former foes. Sons Eric and Aaron joined him, as did two others who worked for him at Washington State. He also added two men from rival Washington, including defensive coordinator Tim Hundley.
The approach from the start was not to have a quick fix. But nobody kicked away the first-year success.
"With Coach Price, the feeling is there's always a way to win," Hundley said. "It's not a one-year, formulated pattern for success. He has a method for the long term. It works."
This year it'll need to. When Price, 59, took his turn before Conference USA microphones Tuesday at the Hilton Memphis, he did so as a coach expected to lead UTEP to a divisional title. It took him back to another time and place.
"My last year at Washington State we were picked to win the Pac-10, and we did. That's the only time we've done that," Price said. "I usually turn an underdog into a wonderdog."
Across the room to his left sat a stack of UTEP media guides. On the cover, with pictures of key Miners, is a photo of Price holding high his now-trademark pick-axe and a snapshot of UTEP's rings from the 2004 Houston Bowl. Whoever said non-BCS bowls don't matter never met last year's Miners.
Price admits he inherited talent from former coach Gary Nord. But he walked into a program whose players needed a new mirror and a shot of self-esteem. So coach and players rebuilt themselves together.
"Coach Price made football fun," linebacker Thomas Howard said. "He's a players' coach. He tries not to make things dull. He cracks jokes before practice, changes things up at practice to keep it interesting. He keeps it fresh."
Not much about 2005 needs to be fresh. The Miners return 11 starters and 44 lettermen from last year's 8-4 team. Chief among the returnees is quarterback Jordan Palmer, younger brother of former Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer.
The group, minus newcomers, makes up the fastest team Price has ever coached. The Miners' average 40-yard dash time was 4.78 seconds in the spring, one about which the head coach is intrigued.
But like every other school in the reconfigured 12-team conference, UTEP's coaching staff reports to camp this week following an arduous summer. It has a new league to learn. Although Tulane is the only school that will play all six C-USA newcomers, the Miners have five new conference opponents for which to prepare.
Price, a grandfather of two, takes little for granted these days.
"I think I've grown up," he said. "I'm just happy to have a job and be in the coaching position. We love the community, and they love us back. It's a great marriage."[/img]