Rest in peace Don James

[seahawksfan234]

I don't believe there was a thread on the UW board for it.

My condolences to his family, the case can be made that between the NBA, MLB, NFL and College football/basketball that Don James was the greatest coach in Seattle history.

James amassed a 153-57-2 record with the Huskies and if he had decided not to resign due to the sanctions, he very well could have surpassed 200 wins with UW if he had decided to coach longer.

Feel free to share your favorite memories from the Don James era or anything else on this thread.

Very sad day for Husky nation and the Seattle area.

 

[seahawksfan234]

If anyone is aware of a public service or memorial that will be held for James I would love for you to post that here as I would like the opportunity to pay my respects.

 

[WizardHawk]

My favorite memories outside of the incredible '91 team was just how different he was as a coach. From his perch above the field during practice in that little covered office on stairs they rolled out to the 50 to how he would make jokes about WSU before the apple cup every year. He was a field general who demanded his coaches manage their players and was a sticker for details.

I posted a rather long winded piece on the now defunct cBS boards about his start at UW and I won't duplicate it fully here, but it bears repeating that he was a man of principle and wasn't going to let anyone, not an AD or alum, nor the media or public dictate to him otherwise.

When Don James took over the UW program he inherited a mediocre team with a strong defense and not a lot of weapons on offense. They searched for key pieces to rebuild that unit and the UW OC was really high on a JC QB that almost no major program wanted to take as a QB. That player was Warren Moon.

Dick Scesniak was really high on this kid who had a riffle for an arm and could complete every long pass. Most of the major schools converted talented black QB's to other positions back then and there were a lot of rumblings in UW making him a starter.

Seattle isn't known as a hot bed for racial tensions and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as some other parts of the country, but there were a lot of angry fans, boosters, alum and lots of questions from the media. Sure, many of those were thinly veiled as questions about starting a JC transfer instead of questioning using a black QB, but James would not waiver from his stance. He said repeatedly that he was hired to put the best players he had in a position to play and win and that's exactly what he was going to do.

Moon was the starter in the '75 season and ended up going 11-11 over his first two seasons. He had a mixed bag of bright spots and some tough games, but no matter how many boos were heard in the stands or how much pressure James got he stood by his guns and dared the city to fire him if they didn't like his decisions, but he was going to start who he thought gave him his best chance and that was that.

Coach James wasn't a nationally known name and didn't have much stock to bargain with and yet he had the principles and determinations to do what he thought was right and take whatever came of it.

Well of course Moon went on in the '77 season to carry the team to an improbable Rose Bowl win over the heavily favored Michigan Wolverines in a game for the ages. He ran for two TD's and had another long pass for a TD to Spider Gaines that stood as the bell weather moment for James and his tenure.

UW was back on the map in a big way and James was proven right. Never again would the faithful question his decisions and never again did anyone take playing his teams for granted.

RIP coach James.
You were loved.
You were respected by all who followed you and played against you.
And no one will ever replace you.

 

[Banned 10x]

RIP Dawgfather

 

[RegentDenali]

R.I.P DawgFather

Prayers to the James family.

 

[TheDman875]

There are a few little tidbits I didn't know about coach James, but then again most of my years watching his teams on the field I was just a kid / teenager. I never knew he coached Jack Lambert and Nick Saban which is pretty remarkable. I did know of Gary Pinkel though. I read their statements and it just only reiterates that much more what Don James meant not to just UW, but college football as a whole.

RIP Dawgfather. Greatest Husky legend of all time. I hope they place a statue of him in Husky Stadium.

 

[Ironbreaker]

RIP.

Blessings and peace to his family.

 

[Banned 10x]

There are a few little tidbits I didn't know about coach James, but then again most of my years watching his teams on the field I was just a kid / teenager. I never knew he coached Jack Lambert and Nick Saban which is pretty remarkable. I did know of Gary Pinkel though. I read their statements and it just only reiterates that much more what Don James meant not to just UW, but college football as a whole.

RIP Dawgfather. Greatest Husky legend of all time. I hope they place a statue of him in Husky Stadium.

This should've already happened.

 

[WizardHawk]

I would be shocked if there isn't a big statue of him somewhere of prominence by the start of next season.

Also, this just in...

Plans Solidified For Don James Remembrances

SEATTLE – On behalf of the James family, the University of Washington will host a public memorial service for longtime former football coach Don James Sunday, Oct. 27, at 3 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena. Again, this event is open to the public.



Read more: Remembrences of Don James (1932-2013)

 

[seahawksfan234]

Thanks for the stories guys and thanks for posting the link to the memorial, Wizardhawk. I think I may already have plans but will try my best to attend.

 

[RegentDenali]

Don James:

1 National Championship (12-0 record in 1991)

10 Bowl wins

4 Rose Bowl wins

6 Pac Titles

3 times PAC coach of the year

Multiple national coach of the year awards

Total HC record: 178-76

 

[AceKeptic]

Here's to one of, but hopefully not the LAST of, the greatest UW coaches of all time.

You will be missed. [salute]

 

[WizardHawk]

Nick Saban on the dawgfather and how if it wasn't for him he would never have been a coach and what he instilled in him all those years ago that stays with him to this day. Really classy thing for him to share his time with our audience.

Nick Saban 10-25

 

[WizardHawk]

today's service will be streamed live on king5.com and nwcn.com for anyone who wants to see it. Starts in less than one hour.

 

[WizardHawk]

It will also be live on TV on NWCN (channel 2 for most people)

 

[WizardHawk]

service lasted just under 2 hours and had a ton of notable speakers. Maybe the most impressive was Gary Pinkle being there in person less than 24 hours after coaching a game. Nick Saban had a video message that was played, Rondeau was the MC, Sark had some words, his daughter and a grandson had words, Chuck Nelson and a couple of other players.

For me the time of grieving is over. We will miss coach and what he gave our city and we will never forget what we learned from him, but it's time to move forward.