Reluctant optimism as Cougars begin year four under Mike Leach

Mike Leach enters his fourth season at WSU with a 12-25 record as the Cougars' head coach. (AP)

It’s Friday, and every Friday “Justin and Gee” have a segment called “Confessions” in which they sheepishly reveal a deep dark secret or admit to how they really feel about something or someone. Their confessions are frequently surprising, even shocking, and in the spirit of that segment, since it’s Friday, I’ve got one myself:

If the Cougs go 2-10 this season, it would be tough to watch, but if that’s what it takes to get rid of Mike Leach and hire a new coach, I’d be OK with that.

Another confession: This is the least excited I’ve been before the start of a Cougar football season, and this is my 42nd season of following the team. I was a freshman in 1974, the year that I saw the light and traded my Husky fan card for a lifetime of having more fun as a Coug.

But here’s one more confession: I woke up this morning and thought:

“My attitude is terrible. My kids are fired up for the season and can’t wait for the 11 a.m. kickoff Saturday against Portland State. I could be wrong about Leach. Maybe he’s a great coach, and maybe he’s a better person than I think he is. Maybe he’ll turn our program around, and if he does, I’ll wonder why I was such a doubter and hater in his first three years. And face it, Jim, you’re wrong a lot more often than you’re right, and it could be the same thing with Leach.”

Here’s how I’ve viewed our head football coach: We went 3-9 in his first season and 3-9 last season. We went 6-7 in between, and he never did admit that his coaching mistakes cost us the New Mexico Bowl. So his record has been terrible, and I’m also sick of his news conferences when he rarely says much about his team but if you ask him about cloud formations and what he sees in them, he’ll go on all day about that. I also think his policy of not talking about injuries is ridiculous.

But what’s the point of having a bad attitude going into a new season? I don’t want to be a Dexter Downer when it comes to Cougar football. It’s always been my far-and-away favorite team.

I once interviewed the late, legendary Pacific Lutheran football coach Frosty Westering, and I’ll never forget what he told me he does when he wakes up every morning: “I’m going to make it a good day.” He planned to have a good day no matter what, and I’ve literally had days where I’ll say “Frosty” to myself to pick my chin off the ground.

That’s where I am with Leach and WSU football. I’m going to “Frosty” my way through this season. It won’t be easy. If we lose to Portland State and if Leach starts giving dating advice during an interview, I’ll have to say “Frosty, Frosty, Frosty” over and over again just to stay the course.

There’s also a chance I won’t have to say “Frosty” at all. Leach has his guys now, and it appears we have an offensive line that will give Luke Falk time to throw to a gifted group of receivers. It also looks like we have three backs who will give us a decent running threat.

And I’m completely on board with new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who plans to be more aggressive. And hey, even if we get beat from time to time, I like that we’re going to try to make things happen on that side of the ball.

Heck, we’ve even got a new kicker, and he’s bound to be better than the poor kid who missed the 19-yard field goal last year against Cal and caused my son Mikey to cry himself to sleep.

You know what, just writing this column makes me feel better about the season ahead. We have a good chance to go 3-0 with Portland State and Wyoming at Martin Stadium sandwiched around a visit to Rutgers, which is dealing with off-field turmoil with some of its players.

Being down on Leach hasn’t been fun. It’s entirely possible that he’s quirky and not the jerk I’ve always thought he was. My perception began to change last spring when I talked to Gino Simone, a former WSU receiver, who said he wished he could’ve played longer for Leach because Leach rewarded players who worked the hardest. It’s hard to have an issue with that.

So let’s see how it plays out, and for a change this year, win or lose, I’m just going to shut my big mouth and hope for the best in the fourth season with Mike Leach.

Line: Cougars by 28

Prediction: Washington State 52, Portland State 10