SEATTLE — Tomorrow you'll be able to glimpse Jason Gesser on the sidelines of the University of Hawai'i-Washington State football game here, a television reporter for Fox Sports Northwest.

But someday, he vows, you'll see him back on the sidelines as the Cougars' head coach.

Paul Wulff, WSU's current head coach, can relax (a little). Gesser isn't after his job. Well, not for the moment, anyway.

Gesser maintains he is looking 10 years down the road, a path that he fully intends to take him back to his alma mater in Pullman, Wash.

One of the most accomplished quarterbacks in Hawai'i high school history, helping Saint Louis School to two O'ahu Prep Bowl titles and a 24-0 record, Gesser is legend hereabouts for leading the Cougars to two 10-win seasons and the 2003 Rose Bowl.

For a program that has fallen on hard times, Gesser, who smashed quarter century-old records of Jack "The Throwin' Samoan" Thompson, is a reminder of how it once was in the Palouse. And, also a living example of how far a driven leader can take a team.

That's why officials at Eastside Catholic School in Sammamish, Wash., gave the 30-year-old Gesser the reins of their program this season. He has set about patiently trying to bring a Saint Louis-like football prominence to a school with a major rebuilding in the works.

The offense is one-back run-and-shoot, borrowing on lessons he said were learned from Ron Lee and Vinny Passas at Saint Louis.

"I think the time frame I'm going to be here is probably about the next 10 years — or as long as they want me here," Gesser said. "I want to accomplish some things and I'm dedicated to the school, the kids and the community to be here for a while to get this to grow."

Few who have followed his path from Saint Louis to WSU, the Arena League and NFL doubt that he is on his way to good things. "No question," said Cal Lee, his head coach at Saint Louis. "Everything he does, he does it to perfection. Whatever he puts his mind to he'll be good at."

Actually, several of his coaches had the inkling about his career direction before it dawned on Gesser. "My coaches have always said, 'Man, you're going to be a good coach someday, just keep on going,' " Gesser recalls.

When his playing days ended with the close of the arena league, he dove into high schools, where he had been an assistant, all with the intention of furthering his ultimate goal. "My main goal is to be the head coach at Washington State one day," Gesser proclaims. "That's where I want to be and where I want to end up."