Michael Bruce Price (born April 6, 1946) is an American former
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
coach. He was the head football coach at
Weber State College from 1981 to 1988,
Washington State University
Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...
from 1989 to 2002, and the
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public university, public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the Univers ...
(UTEP) from 2004 to 2012. Price returned to UTEP as interim head coach for the final seven games of the 2017 season. He was hired at the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
in December 2002, but was fired before coaching a game in
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
.
Early life
Born in
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, Price grew up in
Everett, Washington
Everett (; ) is the county seat and most populous city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the Seattle metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett ...
, north of
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
. He was the son of Walt Price, the longtime head football coach at Everett Junior College. At
Everett High School, Price was a teammate of the son of Pinky Erickson, the head coach at cross-town rival
Cascade High. Everett High was coached by Bill Dunn, a next-door neighbor of the Ericksons. Dennis Erickson was a year behind Price, but took his job as starting quarterback midway through Price's senior year, and Price was moved to defense as a safety. The team finished 9–1. Price went on to play at Everett Junior College,
Washington State
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
, and finally at
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
, where he co-captained the football team and was a member of the
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...
fraternity
A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...
.
Price met his wife, the former Joyce Taylor, in
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
in the early 1950s. They were married at age 19 and they had three children: two sons (who were his assistant coaches) and a daughter.
Assistant coaching career
Price started his coaching career in
1969 as a
graduate assistant
A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...
for two seasons at Washington State, then was the
offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
at his
alma mater
Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...
, UPS, for three.
He returned to WSU for four seasons in
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
as the running backs coach, and in his first months on staff landed what would be one of the greatest recruits in school history, quarterback Jack Thompson out of Evergreen High in Seattle.
Price also successfully recruited future
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
hall-of-famer Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg (born September 18, 1959), nicknamed "Ryno", is an American former professional baseball player, coach (baseball), coach, and manager (baseball), manager. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second bas ...
to play
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
for the Cougars but Sandberg chose to sign a contract out of high school with the Philadelphia Phillies. His final job as an assistant was at
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
under head coach
Warren Powers
Warren Anthony Powers (February 19, 1941 – November 2, 2021) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Washington State Cougars football, Washington State University in 1977, and the Missouri Tigers football, Un ...
, where he coached the quarterbacks and wide receivers for three years, from
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
to
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
.
Head coaching career
Weber State
Following the 1980 season, Price landed his first head coaching position at
Weber State of the
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...
, a job for which friend Dennis Erickson was also a finalist. Erickson would get the
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
job the next year, and returned the favor (following the
1986 season) by beating out Price for the Washington State job. Upon leaving just two years later for
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, Erickson recommended Price, who got the WSU job and then rented Erickson's Pullman home. Price was at Weber State through 1988, compiling a record in eight seasons. His best year was 1987, when the Wildcats went 9–2 (6–1 in conference), and advanced to the quarterfinals of the
Division I-AA playoffs to finish at 10–3.
Washington State
In March 1989, Price was hired by WSU Athletic Director Jim Livengood to be head coach of the
Washington State
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
team. Price and Livengood had been friends since 1964 when they both played quarterback at Everett Junior College. Price was chosen over former Washington assistant coach Ray Dorr.
On the field, Price was noted for his historic success at
Washington State
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
, where he served for fourteen seasons (
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
–
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
) and compiled a record, with three ten-win seasons and five bowl appearances. His last two seasons at "Wazzu" combined for a 20–5 record (13–3 in the
Pac-10
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...
). Price's 2002 team compiled a 7–1 mark in the conference and advanced to the
Rose Bowl, where they were defeated by the
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...
34–14. Five years earlier in
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
, Price was named National Coach of the Year, as the
Cougars returned to the
Rose Bowl after more than sixty years. Price, who also guided WSU to the 2003 Rose Bowl, calls the 1998 Rose Bowl his greatest coaching achievement.
During his tenure at Washington State, he mentored some of the greatest players in the school's history, including
quarterbacks
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
Drew Bledsoe
Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football for Washi ...
,
Ryan Leaf, and
Jason Gesser.
Prior to his departure, Price had recently signed a five-year contract at a base salary of $600,000 per year. With incentives, his compensation exceeded $900,000 in his final season at WSU.
His original contract in 1989 was a four-year deal at $75,000 per year with unspecified television and radio revenues.
Alabama
Price may be best known nationally for an off-the-field incident during his brief stint at
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
. In December 2002, he was hired in principle to replace
Dennis Franchione
Dennis Wayne Franchione (born March 28, 1951) is an American former college football coach. He is the former head football coach at Texas State University–San Marcos, Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school ...
as the head coach of the
Crimson Tide. Price was at Alabama during the
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
spring practice, but in May his contract was rescinded shortly after news reports surfaced of Price being seen at a strip club during a trip to
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, where Price was playing in a
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
tournament, and he also had about $1,000 charged to his hotel room by an unknown woman staying in the room. This development came on the heels of an earlier reprimand for visiting campus-area bars and drinking into the early hours in
Tuscaloosa.
UTEP
On December 21, 2003,
Texas-El Paso announced the hiring of Price as its new head coach.
In his first season in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, he led the Miners to an 8–4 record and a berth in the
Houston Bowl, where they lost to
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. It was a significant turnaround for the Miners, who had won only two games in each of their previous three seasons. UTEP earned its first-ever ranking in the
AP Poll in 2004, rising as high as 23rd in early November. Price was a finalist for
Eddie Robinson Award and the
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for coach of the year. His starting salary at UTEP in 2004 was $225,000 plus incentives.
In
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, Price became the second coach to take UTEP to three bowl games, after
Mike Brumbelow, who led the Miners to the hometown
Sun Bowl after the
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
,
1954
Events
January
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
, and
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
seasons.
Days before the final game of the
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
season, Price announced his retirement.
He returned as interim coach midway through the
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
season following the departure of
Sean Kugler, who had resigned after the fifth game; UTEP went winless for the season.
Head coaching record
Notes
References
Additional sources
* "Out of Everett," 'The Seattle Times' ''Pacific Magazine'', Sunday, August 13, 1995, p. 12–17.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Mike
1946 births
Living people
American football defensive backs
American football quarterbacks
Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches
Missouri Tigers football coaches
Puget Sound Loggers football coaches
Puget Sound Loggers football players
UTEP Miners football coaches
Washington State Cougars football coaches
Washington State Cougars football players
Weber State Wildcats football coaches
Players of American football from Everett, Washington
Players of American football from Denver