The Washington St. Cougars have reportedly done it: Mike Leach, former Texas Tech Red Raiders coach, will make Pullman his next port, a source tells Seattle Times' columnist Steve Kelley. The report was revealed on Twitter by Kelley's son and Seattle Times colleague, Mason Kelley. Wazzu fired four-year coach Paul Wulff on Tuesday amid speculation that they were going after Leach.
Mike Leach To Be Hired As Washington State Football Coach, According To Report
Adding fuel to the fire that something is in the works, Leach reportedly did not make his regularly-scheduled appearance Wednesday on XM Radio.
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Every coaching vacancy for the past year or so has come with Leach’s name attached. He’s viewed as an offensive genius whose Texas Tech teams scored in scads. He’s known for his Air Raid offenses, gooey defenses that get the ball back to his Air Raid offenses in the most efficient manner possible, and amusing quotes.
Leach was 84-43 as Tech’s head coach, with a bowl invitation every year. He didn’t make it to the Alamo Bowl in his final season, as he’d been fired by ESPN analyst Craig James*. Before reaching Lubbock, he’d assisted at Oklahoma, Kentucky, and various smaller schools, torching local record books all the way.
If Leach joins the same conference as Oregon’s Chip Kelly and Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez, the Pac-12 might start regularly outscoring Big Ten basketball.
A Wyoming native who went to school in California and drew his coaching inspiration from BYU’s 1980s attacks, he’d been connected with West Coast jobs and gigs in Florida, near his Key West home. WSU would afford him the chance to recruit the Pacific coast, and his Latter Day Saints upbringing could help him in recruiting Utah.
* This is not exactly what happened, but it’s closer to the documented truth than anything alleged by James or his son.
For more on Wazzu, visit Washington State blog Coug Center and SB Nation Seattle. And here’s our 2011 Coaching Carousel Tracker.
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