Doba looks to have dual role

PULLMAN – Multiple people in the Washington State football program have confirmed the hiring of Nevada assistant coach Marty Long, a move that indicates head coach Bill Doba has decided to assume the duties of defensive coordinator as well for the 2007 season.

Long will coach the defensive ends, replacing one half the responsibilities that former WSU defensive coordinator Robb Akey held before he took Idaho’s head coaching job in December.

Doba had offered the coordinator job to linebackers coach Leon Burtnett, who expressed no interest in the additional title.

As a result, Doba, who was the defensive coordinator at WSU before taking over the top job from Mike Price, is in line to resume those duties in addition to his current job title.

Doba, at a national conference for football coaches, did not respond to a phone message.

Long, who turned 43 Monday, has coached Nevada’s defensive line the past three seasons. He coached alongside Doba at The Citadel in 1988 after a playing career as a running back at the South Carolina school ended in 1985. Long has also coached at Arizona, and Nevada head coach Chris Ault told the Reno Gazette-Journal the opportunity for Long was “terrific.”

The Cougars could still lose another staff member to a head coaching job as well. Quarterbacks coach Timm Rosenbach, known to be one of four finalists for the Central Washington job, said Monday he would interview later this week. Rosenbach declined to comment any further on his possible move.

If Rosenbach gets the Central Washington job, WSU would be losing its playcallers on both sides of the football, since the quarterbacks coach assumed those duties on the offense and has been in many ways a de facto co-offensive coordinator alongside Mike Levenseller.