I hope you know what you're doing, pal.

I do not know what to think. Not knowing what to say happens to me all the time (virtually anytime someone has lost a loved one or if there is a hot babe to whom I'm supposed to say something charming). I can finagle my way out of not knowing what to say, but ever since the scoreboard at the CLink showed Washington 38 - Washington State 21 and the game clock had nothing but zeroes, I haven't been able to consistently figure out what the hell I was thinking. It's a good thing nobody had explicitly asked me if the end of the season at 4-8 should also mean the end of the Paul Wulff Era. Emotionally, I thought no, but rationally I thought maybe while understanding why the answer would probably be yes. Sometimes those emotional and rational responses would flip flop as I tried to sort it all out. To make matters worse, I wasn't even home yet when the Seattle Times was reporting that Wulff would be fired early this week. That kicked off a two day extravaganza of Twitter refreshes, comment posting, comment reading and more scatterbrained thinking. Where did it get me? I still don't know for sure, but I do know it's Wednesday and I'd better have something so I'm going to attack this issue the only way I know how: by spewing as many of my thoughts as possible across the screen on This Here Blog. This will happen, of course, after the jump. So you might as well jump, go ahead and jump. Jump!

Hello Cougar Nation!  Hope you're hanging in there.

Not much time for me right now, but if you want to solve the hidden riddle from Bill Moos' presser yesterday, then read on.

Good morning, Followers.  Hope you all are doing great.

Well, as we wait for Huddy's Wednesday post, I thought I'd give you my two non-leading candidates for the WSU Coaching job, a group that I not-so-affectionately refer to as the "Splash Killers."

And here are the leading two:

Splash Killer #1:

(Heretofore Known As "Davey Crocket.")

Splash Killer #2: 

(Heretofore Known as "Dirk Diggler.")

In other words, if we just fired the good man Paul Wulff for one of these splash killers, you'll know I'll be fitting a Noose for both myself AND Bill Moos.

All for now. Go Cougs.

Updated now with video of both Moos AND Wulff:

Will be taking on-going notes from the Presser....Pardon the roughness...

"In 30 years in the business, I've never met a finer man than Paul Wulff."

Then goes on to cite apathy in the fan base as evidence in the lowest donations in the conference.

And cites apathy as the reason for the change.

Hopes to have a new coach sometime in the next two to three weeks...

Wulff's attendance at booster club yesterday was to provide a chance for CPW to experience the gratitude of the fan base.

"We have to run with the big dogs or become a doormat.  We can't embrace mediocrity. That's not gonna work."

Entire staff is released, hopes that one or two will be retained by next coach, especially for recruiting...

WSU is a stepping stone because of a lack of facilitities and the attitude of the fan base.

"You're looking at the search committee. That's the way I do it."

Looking for head coach or coach with former head coaching experience.

"I've had discussions, not formal discussions, with candidates."

Ready to spend big money on the next coach.

Two Assistants plus Deeds will stay on board for now...

Talent level is way better than before, some areas pretty darn good and others the talent is lacking.  Depth is still suspect, which is a killer in a 12 game season.

"Talent Level is Good Enough To Win."

"I want to get the program to the point where the Huskies beat the Cougars once every four years."

"I know Mike Leach.  Pretty good record.  Read his book.  10 bowl games in 10 seasons. But there are current active coaches that I am hoping might show some interest." (That is a Christensen reference).

Leach is on the short list. Belotti is on the list, but he doesn't think he's interested.

"The President put this decision on my plate. We've had discussions and when I went to talk to him on Sunday night, he was very supportive."

"You always risk taking a step back when you make a coaching change."  

Has not offered the job to anyone.  

Moos was evasive about whether Erickson is on the list, but noted that there were a bunch of empty seats in Tempe...

Said there is 6 or 7 prospective coaches on the short list.  Dirk Koeter used to be on the list, but isn't anymore..

Kevin Sumlin is on the shortlist...

Next coach will have the same commitment to off-field "quality" as Paul Wulff.

+++++++++++++++

They've now gone to stuff off camera.  

"We're going to establish our budget today, but to compete on the field, we're going to have to compete with salary." 

"We need to expand our donor base, and we need our donors to understand that they need to double their donations..."

"Every other conference schools subsidizes scholarships, but not us."

That's all the time I have for right now, we'll be back later tonight...

I think...

Paul Wulff has been fired as coach of your Washington State Cougars.

We'll be back after Moos' presser later this afternoon.

+++++

UPDATE: 11:20AM PST

Here's the offical statement from WSU:

PULLMAN, Wash. - Washington State University Director of Athletics Bill Moos announced Tuesday that Paul Wulff will not return to coach the Cougars in 2012.

"Paul and I met at length Sunday, and then again today, after which I determined the best path for Cougar football moving forward is to have a change of leadership," said Moos. "I appreciate all that Paul has done for Washington State football. He was hired with the objective of rebuilding this program and establishing a solid foundation. For that I thank him."

Wulff, who Saturday completed his fourth year at WSU, compiled a 9-40 record, including a 4-8 mark in 2011. The four wins are the most during his tenure and included an upset of Arizona State and a last-minute victory at Colorado.

This season the Cougars were without starting quarterback Jeff Tuel for all but two games yet took steps forward and finished in the top half of the Pac-12 Conference in both total offense and total defense. WSU averaged 29.8 points per game this season, 11 more than in 2010 while defensively the Cougars surrendered more than four points fewer per game compared to last season.

During the 2010 campaign, WSU showed statistical improvement from the previous season in all major statistical categories while playing one of the top five most difficult schedules in the country. The year was highlighted by a 31-14 upset at Oregon State, after which Tuel was named Pac-10 Player of the Week.

Wulff was hired in December, 2007, following the five-year tenure of Bill Doba. Wulff had one year remaining on his original five-year contract.

"We will begin the process of naming the next head coach immediately," said Moos. "I will not be discussing details of the hiring process, only that I expect to name a successful candidate as soon as possible."