Washington State has landed “its man”.
“The search for a new football coach went fast. I only talked to one man. I only wanted one man,” said Washington State Director of Athletics Bill Moos.
The Cougars’ “man” is former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach.
Leach, who spent the last two seasons in the media,
experienced ten very successful seasons with the Red Raiders during which the
program went to ten bowls, never won less than seven games, and compiled an
impressive 84-43 record–which included a 47-33 mark in the Big 12. Texas Tech tallied eight or more victories in
all but two of those seasons and produced an 11-2 mark in 2008.
“His reputation and his resume’ is off the charts. I came back to Washington State to go to the Rose Bowl. And that’s where we are going to go,” said Moos.
Leach’s tenure in Lubbock came to an end in 2009 following
the alleged mistreatment of wide receiver Adam James–the son of legendary SMU
running back and ESPN college football analyst Craig James.
While he enjoyed his two seasons working in radio and
television, the “Pirate Captain” is happy to be back on the sidelines in
Pullman.
“I’m thrilled to be back in coaching. I’ve enjoyed my two years, but that’s a
different dimension than coaching offers.
There’s nothing like the unity and working together with a team. The journey and the battle is exciting.”
Leach, who has also been the offensive coordinator at
Kentucky and Oklahoma, has a long history of directing high-powered passing
attacks. During his time at Texas Tech,
the Red Raiders led the nation in passing yardage in six of those seasons.
While he didn’t specify what schools had talked to him, the
Cougars’ new coach did say that he had discussed several other head coaching
vacancies.
Leach cited the university’s commitment to excellence in all
phases, the community support, and the ability to win big as some of the
reasons he took the Washington State job.
Thomas “Bubba” Rosenbaum
DFN Sports Staff Writer