Coaches Follow Similar Paths

Karl Dorrell and Tyrone Willingham will coach against each other for the second time today when UCLA and Washington open Pacific 10 Conference play at Husky Stadium.

They are the only two African-American head coaches in the conference, and Dorrell and Willingham have more than that in common.

Both men grew up in military families, became Division I football players and began their coaching careers as graduate assistants at their alma maters. Both also spent time working in the NFL before starting their head coaching careers at Pac-10 schools.

“I have a lot of admiration for him,” Dorrell said of Willingham, who began his coaching career at Michigan State in 1977. “I see him around certain functions and meetings that we have as head coaches, but I would like to know him more.

“He is the kind of guy who I hold up in high esteem. In my mind, he helped me become a head coach just by watching what he’s done. I watched him at Stanford and I admire how he represents the game and how he represents the institutions that he works for.”

Willingham, who got his first head coaching job at Stanford in 1996, has similar respect for Dorrell.

“Karl is a heck of a man, so that makes our competitive relationship extremely competitive,” said Willingham, who is 2-1 in his second season at Washington.

Dorrell has also coached in Seattle. In 1999, he left Colorado to become the Huskies’ offensive coordinator and receivers coach. That same season, Willingham led Stanford to the Rose Bowl and was chosen Pac-10 coach of the year.

Three years later, in his first season at Notre Dame, Willingham led the Irish to a 10-3 record and was national coach of the year. That’s when Dorrell -- who was coaching the Denver Broncos’ receivers -- started writing to Willingham and a relationship began.

“I would say that we’ve enjoyed each other’s company,” Willingham said. “We have a mutual respect for each other.”

Last year, in the first meeting between the coaches, Dorrell’s Bruins scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally from a 17-7 deficit and post a 21-17 victory at the Rose Bowl.

If Willingham is to avenge last season’s loss and end Washington’s five-game losing streak against UCLA (2-0), he’s going to need a quality game from senior quarterback Isaiah Stanback.

A week ago, Stanback led Washington to its biggest victory in three seasons, 21-20 over Fresno State. He completed 15 of 26 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 91 yards and a touchdown in 12 carries.

“Whenever you have an athletic quarterback like him, your job is going to be really tough,” UCLA defensive tackle Kenneth Lombard said of Stanback. “He adds a whole different dimension.”

Stanback, who played receiver and returned kicks earlier in his career at Washington, is seventh in the Pac-10 in rushing, averaging 70.3 yards a game. Along with running backs Louis Rankin and Kenny James, he has carried the Huskies to a conference-best rushing average of 210.7 yards a game. Although Washington ranks near the bottom of the Pac-10 in passing, Stanback has thrown for four touchdowns.

“We have to stay in coverage and stay close to our men because he’s a scrambling quarterback,” junior safety Dennis Keyes said. “He’s always running around, so we have to be sure not to let anyone free in the secondary.”

While Stanback will be the main challenge for UCLA’s defense, patience will be the key for the offense against the Huskies’ conservative defensive schemes.

Led by strong safety C.J. Wallace, who leads the Pac-10 with 33 tackles, Washington likes to make offenses work for touchdowns. The Huskies would rather give up long drives than a big play.

“They are really fundamentally sound and do a good job of keeping everything in front of them,” UCLA offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda said. “It’s hard for an offense to string together 12- and 14-play drives without making a big mistake or be put in a couple of third-and-long situations.”

Washington’s defense will present a challenge different than UCLA quarterback Ben Olson faced against Utah and Rice, which blitzed often and used man-to-man coverage.

“We have to stay in rhythm and not make mistakes, especially me. I know I have to do a better of job of taking care of the ball,” said Olson, who fumbled twice against Rice, which also intercepted one of his passes.

“You have to take what their defense gives you; if we do that, we’ll be fine.”

For Dorrell, a victory today would improve his record to 4-0 against Washington and 2-0 against Willingham. But it would not change the way he feels about his coaching role model.

“It’s a little bit different now that I’m one of his peers, working at this level,” Dorrell said. “But to me, he will always be in my mind a few notches above me. Tyrone is a quality man. Definitely one of my favorites.”

lonnie.white@latimes.com