Washington Huskies: What if Don James never came to UW?
Dan Devine
By 1974, Devine was ready to leave the frozen tundra of Green Bay. Unfortunately, he passed on the Washington Huskies job in favor of Notre Dame. It might not have been the worst thing if Devine had come to Seattle.
The Fighting Irish were really good during Devine’s six seasons in South Bend. Notre Dame went 53-16-1 under his leadership. The highlight was winning the 1977 National Championship after defeating Texas and Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell in the 1978 Cotton Bowl. His quarterback that season was a young man named Joe Montana.
Would Montana have come to Washington if Devine was the Huskies head coach? We’ll never know, but landing a talent like Montana says a lot about his ability to recruit. Devine retired from coaching in 1980, so any success would have been short-lived, and UW would have needed another coach.
Dan Devine had a very successful college and professional coaching career, although he is more well known for two things. First, he succeeded Vince Lombardi as Green Bay Packers head coach after the legend died of cancer in 1970. Second, Devine was the coach at Notre Dame when the players staged a mini-revolt to let Rudy Ruettiger play in a college game.
Darryl Rodgers
Washington wasn’t as serious about Darryl Rodgers as he was about them. As it turned out, Rogers finally got his big-time opportunity in 1976 with Michigan State. He stayed in Lansing for four years before going to Arizona State another five. Rogers finished his career as a pro coach with the Detroit Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
He likely wouldn’t have had anything close to Don James’ success at Washington, and he also proved to be a man who wouldn’t stick around one place for very long. The Huskies were right to pass on him.
Mike White
After Devine took the Notre Dame job, Kearney was serious about hiring Mike White away from Pac-8 Conference rivals, Calfornia. The 38-year-old White built back the Golden Bears program after his predecessor Ryan Willsey ran afoul of the NCAA. While he didn’t exactly dominate at Cal, he kept them competitive.
Apparently, the Washington Huskies and White were very close to a deal and had a press conference on tap. White changed his mind at the last minute and decided to stay at Berkeley. In 1975 he led the Bears to an 8-3 record (6-1 in Pac-8) and was named NCAA Coach of the Year. He might have done a great job at Washington, a school with more resources, but he had pro aspirations, eventually coaching the Oakland Raiders for two seasons.