Q&A with Wulff

WASHINGTON STATE'S Paul Wulff and other Pac-12 head football coaches provided some interesting comments in Q&A sessions with ESPN.com.

Wulff listed Arizona State’s Dennis Erickson (who coached Wulff at WSU) as the coach with the biggest influence on him. Coeur d’Alene’s Wolf Lodge is Wulff’s favorite restaurant (“Giant, giant steaks”); UCLA and Oregon have the best-looking cheerleaders (coaches could not name their own school); the peaceful island of Kauai in Hawaii is his favorite place to vacation; and former Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea is the player Wulff is most pleased to no longer face.

“I was hoping it was Andrew Luck,” joked Wulff, referring to the Stanford quarterback who turned down the NFL to return for his senior year.

Michael Jordan was Wulff’s favorite athlete growing up. Country singer Jason Aldean is Wulff’s favorite musical artist. Arizona’s Mike Stoops earned Wulff’s vote as the best-dressed coach in the conference.

“That’s not easy (to answer),” Wulff said, “because there’s nobody I would say was GOOD.”

Stoops and Washington’s Steve Sarkisian might take offense to that last remark. Each man picked himself as the best-dressed coach.

“They can’t compare,” Stoops insisted.

“I think I’m the best-dressed guy,” Sarkisian responded. “Without a doubt. Look at these shoes!”

For what it’s worth, Erickson named Wulff the best dresser. However, USC’s Lane Kiffin said Stoops is No. 1.

“He’s totally changed,” Kiffin said as he inserted the needle in Stoops. “He drinks fancy wine now. He reads the same magazines as my wife. He’s got designer clothes on all the time.”

Wulff again acknowledged that the rebuilding process at WSU has been even more challenging than he expected. Wulff said his first two WSU teams, in 2008 and ’09, would have lost “by a couple touchdowns” to his old team at Eastern Washington (a Football Championship Subdivision team).

“But what’s great is always I look forward, and I see the end of the road,” Wulff said. “I know what it’s going to look like, and I know that our team is getting closer to what a quality team that can compete for championship should look like.”