PACIFIC 10 FOOTBALL / JIM HODGES : Cloud Hangs Over Huskies, but No One’s Talking

They gathered in a West Los Angeles hotel, relaxed despite jackets and ties, with stories to tell about their football teams and people to hear them.

Gibes were exchanged about golf games and families, players past and present and opponents in the future. To a man, a theme was recited--”We’re all undefeated now”--in something of a litany, or perhaps a slogan for a group that is as fraternal as any organization pledging allegiance to Greek letters and using a secret handshake.

They adhere to a code that is as practical as it is personal: Do not speak ill of thy fellow coach. Better him than you and, besides, you don’t want to rile the opposition. It might help it beat you.

Don James is one of the brethren, indeed its senior member, having been at Washington 18 seasons. He has problems that have been well-documented, and you won’t find a Pacific 10 Conference coach who doesn’t know about them. Or one who will talk about them.

Even Stanford’s Bill Walsh, whose critical remarks of the Washington program last spring were made at a Cardinal booster club meeting in Sacramento, now says that those remarks were reported inaccurately, out of context and, besides, what you tell the boosters is for their ears, not the public’s eyes in the morning paper.

Don’t ask Walsh about James’ problems. The Cardinal coach has a problem of his own: Who is going to line up at running back against the Huskies in Seattle on Sept. 4?

Don’t bother UCLA’s Terry Donahue about James’ problems. The Bruin coach is concerned about who is going to play quarterback against California at the Rose Bowl later that same day.

Meanwhile, Washington State’s Mike Price is trying to replace the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, Drew Bledsoe, while trying to figure out why he has to open at Michigan, also on Sept. 4; Oregon State’s Jerry Pettibone is hoping he’s found somebody who can complete enough passes to get other teams out of nine-man defensive lines, and Keith Gilbertson is trying to find defensive linemen at Berkeley.

Then there are Rich Brooks, who is trying to get Oregon from the Independence Bowl to a New Year’s Day game, and USC’s John Robinson, trying to erase the Trojans’ memories of their last bowl appearance--the debacle against Fresno State in Anaheim.

“You have to understand that when coaches get to Aug. 1, they get myopic; they have tunnel vision,” says Tom Hansen, Pac-10 commissioner.

If you want to talk about Don James’ problems, you have to talk to James, and his responses are measured against the calendar.

“We’ll be happy when August is over and all of this is behind us,” he says plainly and in opposition to coaches who would rather slow the month to allow more preparation for September’s games.

“All this” is outlined in a 38-page Notice of Charges from Pac-10 investigators that says, among other things, that Washington boosters have been excessive in the care and wooing of football players. That a booster offered to adopt a player to get him to Seattle. That a booster provided no-show jobs for players, and another had improper contact with recruits. That the school failed to control the accounting of recruiting expenses and the actions of those allied with its football program.

The charges are a cloud over Washington’s program and over the Pac-10, whose commissioner admits the darkness, then points out that the light of league justice will peek through. “Maybe this is a little self-serving,” he says, “but people in the conference have confidence in the enforcement process.”

It is this that James must deal with in August as he tries to sort out his offense and defense, and other Pac-10 coaches work with the single-minded goal of being ready to play in September.

While other teams get freshmen prepared to feed into a system of sophomores, juniors and seniors next Monday and Tuesday, James and Washington have an appointment with the Pac-10 Enforcement Committee in San Francisco. Then while the rest of the league is hard at work in two-a-day practices on Aug. 21, James and Washington have a date with the Pac-10 Council, which will review the case and determine punishment, if any.

A day later, the chief executive officers of the league’s schools will decide if the punishment fits the crime, and James and the rest of the league will find out if the race to the Rose Bowl has a nine- or 10-team field.

Ask James about this, but don’t bother Dick Tomey, who is more concerned about whether transfer quarterback Dan White can offer offensive balance to an Arizona team that lives on its defense; or Bruce Snyder, who wants to see if tailback Mario Bates’ knee is sound at Arizona State.

Washington’s problems are Washington’s problems, though Hansen admits, one school’s misfortune might be another’s opportunity. Other coaches might well see the situation as “opening a door a bit” to the Rose Bowl, he says. The Huskies have been there three years in a row and are favored for a fourth.

But while the postseason fate of most will be decided in the games of autumn, Washington’s might well be determined before the first kickoff. And it will be left for Don James to deal with his problems.

He says he is ready and will approach them as part of the job.

“I think every coaching staff will start their meetings this week talking about dealing with adversity, because everyone in this league will have adversity,” James says. “They’ll have injuries. They’ll have a defeat. Something serious might happen to a player. That’s one of the lessons that we learn, because we’re in an organization of teams where life goes on.

“And adversity is not an excuse to fail or give up. You can get all those lessons taught. I’ve done that every year I’ve coached.

“Of course, our adversity is somewhat stronger this year than in the past.”

The sales pitch has already begun at Washington, and the players seem to be buying. “No matter what happens,” linebacker Andy Mason says, “our goal is still to be undefeated.”

The problems are Washington’s, and Walsh expresses concern only about playing the Huskies in the season opener. “They’ve been the strongest team in this part of the country the last few years, and we’ll learn a lot about ourselves when we play them,” he says. “Besides, it only lasts 3 1/2 hours.”

The real test for Washington might last all season.