It was minutes after Washington State’s 42-35 win over Washington in the Apple Cup Saturday and Cougar quarterback Alex Brink was asked what he thought it meant to WSU coach Bill Doba.

For weeks, the rumor was that Doba would be fired after the season.

“This means so much for Coach,” Brink said. “He’s been through a lot. He’s had to deal with a lot of things that he shouldn’t have to deal with. For him to get this win, for us to do it right for him, means a lot to me as a senior on my way out. It’s a relationship that I’ll keep for a long time. I was rteal happy to see him get this.”

Doba, 67, won three of five Apple Cups in his tenure, which ended Monday with the announcement that the Cougars will search for another head coach.

Doba’s only winning season was his first, 10-3 in 2003, which included a victory over Texas in the Holiday Bowl. After that, the Cougars were 5-6, 4-7, 6-6 and 5-7.

College football loses a good man. Doba was loyal to his school and popular with his players. He has a decency about him that permeates the entire program. But in the end, he didn’t win enough. Many questioned his coaching decisions. Some even pointed to his age, wondered how long he could last and how that affected recruiting.

Even so, his 2007 recruiting class is well regarded.

Doba’s wife, Judy, died in April 2006 after a four-year fight with ovarian cancer. Like her husband, Judy Doba was popular with the players, many of whom considered her a mother away from home.

Doba leaves a true Coug. He joined the WSU staff in 1989 as linebacker coach for Mike Price. Price elevated him to defensive coordinator in 1994. He became head coach when Price accepted the head coaching job at Alabama, just before the 2002 Rose Bowl, which Price and Doba coached together.

Saturday’s Apple Cup performance was the Cougars’ best since the 1997 game, when Ryan Leaf led the team to a Rose Bowl-clinching victory.

That’s a great way to go out. We still hate to see a good and decent man leave the profession.