Pullman’s Wollan off to Chehalis

Bob Wollan knew only a few head football coaching jobs existed that would take him away from his job coaching at Pullman.

When one of those opened up, he had to take it.

Wollan has been hired to head the W.F. West (Chehalis) football program after three years at Pullman, during which he went 33-5, including the 2005 State 2A championship.

It wasn’t anything football-related, Wollan said, but a family decision.

“It gets us back close to our families,” said Wollan, who went to Centralia High School, 6 miles north of Chehalis in southwest Washington. “It gets our kids close to their grandparents.”

He started his head-coaching career at Rochester, another school in the area, where he compiled a 52-18 record in seven years.

Chehalis is a school the size of Clarkston that has been 3A in recent years but will drop into the 2A classification in the 2006-07 season, and hasn’t reached the postseason since 1989.

Despite only being in Pullman three years, Wollan found it difficult to leave such a good situation.

“We had a pretty close-knit group and their commitment level was great,” he said. “Personally, I wouldn’t trade what the kids have given us down here for anything. The program’s in great shape, things are rolling pretty good and if the administration gets the right people in here – and I think they will – it will keep going.”