Don James

campgrounds.

We told you that Don James was the dean of the Pac-10 conference with the retirement of Michigan's Bo Schembechler.

Hayden Fry is now the dean of the Big Ten coaches.

His record at Iowa, 90-49-4.

And it starts off with a dull thud as the ball trickles out of bounds.

And it'll come back, mark off five, and redo it.

Go, Washington! You normally don't expect a Don James team to be looking around for gimmicks and something different.

I say you normally don't expect it.

Who this book is for is anybody, which is everybody really, who's gone through a tough time trying to figure it out.

And I know I've done some shin- shiny things, but there's a pattern, there's, there's a framework of which I have followed, uh, which Don James way back when taught me, the old Hall of Fame coach at the University of Washington, which time and time and time again has led me to the top of the mountain.

All right.

So Mark, what's really interesting is, I know you've said this too, but the fact that you played in the NFL, you always assumed, and you had a great college career, but you always assumed that playing in the NFL would be the most difficult thing that you would ever do.

I put on about 150,000 vertical feet, and this year I'm shooting for 50.

Why not, right? You keep going.

But again, I kind of feel like so much of my life has been built around this whole pyramid of success, which Don James taught me, which he stole from John Wooden, the old basketball coach.

And, you know, again, I'm kind of at the bottom, but once you set those goals, at the top of that pyramid is something called pyra- uh, uh, competitive greatness.

... or have to com- you know, have a big competition with somebody that's already been there as a starter.

So I went to Washington, they had a new coaching staff coming in, Don James, and- and he gave me a chance to, you know, to play big time college football as a quarterback.

First Black quarterback to start there, right?

Yes, sir.

So Washington State is playing the Huskies, Washington, that's their big rivalry.

Don James.

Don...

You wasn't there yet.

You know, I can do on that a bit.

Well, Don James and Jimmy Rogers, among other people, back in the 84 season, which I know you weren't privy to, but they – Don James himself said it to media after one of those games late in the year that – you could feel the Husky home crowd get really excited when the defense was on the field, and things would get tense when the offense was out there, and then they'd be relaxing again when the defense went back out there.

And that was true.

Oh,

But I think they made the joke back when Sark was our coach.

And those of us that were not fans of Sark, we were trying to figure out who could be the Husky coach or whatever.

And I think the joke was like if they could somehow bring Don James back or something.

Yeah.

So we're going to find out about the Michigan ball club, and here it is from the Washington coach, Mr.

Don James.

We're very impressed with the Michigan team.

We think they have excellent balance.

If he can get the running games established inside, he can run the option outside.

Then we're going to have to face a very good, solid passing attack, play-action passes.

That's Don James in his first Rose Bowl game.

This will be the fourth for Bo Schembechler.