WSU hires Leach to replace Wulff
November 30, 2011 by The Seattle Times
SEATTLE — Mike Leach has been named football coach at Washington State. Leach agreed in principle to a five-year contract and will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday in Pullman, according to a release from the school.
“I asked athletic director Bill Moos to select the best head football coach in the country and I am convinced that he has done exactly that,” WSU president Elson Floyd said in the news release.
FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2009, file photo, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach waits as a play is reviewed during the first quarter of their NCAA college football game against Texas in Austin, Texas. Leach has reached a verbal agreement to be the new football coach at Washington State, an official within the athletic department told the Associated Press on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Moos said, “This is an exciting day for Washington State University and Cougar football. I have spoken about the need to re-energize our fan base and take Cougar football to the next level. I believe the hiring of Mike Leach accomplishes both of those goals. His credentials speak for themselves.”
Leach replaces Paul Wulff, fired Tuesday by Washington State after a 9-40 record in four seasons. The quick push for Leach was not unexpected. The Seattle Times reported last week that Wulff was likely to be fired, and that Leach would be the top target of the Cougars. An informed source told The Times the deal might be done quickly.
Leach, 50, had been expected to be a top choice at Kansas, where he had an old friendship with athletic director Sheahon Zenger.
Leach has been out of coaching for the past two years after a controversial exit from Texas Tech. He was fired just short of collecting on an $800,000 salary bonus. At issue was whether he mistreated a Red Raiders player, Adam James, by directing him to stay in a darkened equipment shed to help treat a concussion.
Leach coached 10 Texas Tech to 10 straight bowl games and favors a spread passing offense.
“First off I would like to express my appreciation to Paul Wulff for all his efforts and dedication to Washington State and wish him the best in the future,” Leach said in the news release. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity to work with Bill Moos, who is a legend in this business. To have the opportunity as a coach to work with someone like that is an experience few head coaches get. Along with Bill and Dr. Floyd, I’m excited about being a part of the future of Washington State.
“I have always admired the tradition of Washington State. It’s a university on the move that is experiencing growth. I’m excited about what they are doing with the facilities and it’s a team that has battled through some hard times and shows great promise in the future. I’m proud to be a part of this team.”
— Bud Withers
Filed under * WSU Cougars, Season Ticket
Change hurts sometimes
I know that in today’s world of facebook revolutions, twitter, blogs, 30 second sound bites, and sex tapes, careers are made and lost in a matter of hours. So one could expect and understand why the Cougar nation threw Paul Wulff under the bus and hired Mike Leech before the bus tires went thump thump.
But, when you played for the Cougars in the late 70’s and early 80’s, while being coached by Pat Ruel (Seahawks OL Coach), Steve Morton (WSU OL Coach) and Jim Walden (WSU Hall a Fame). And, you’re playing experience includes the 1979 upset victory of UCLA in the newly expanded Martin Stadium, playing in the 1981 Holiday bowl (first WSU bowl game in 50 years), and upsetting the Huskies in the return of the 1982 Apple Cup game to the WSU campus, you have a perspective of Cougar football that is intertwined in the very fiber of who you are and how you interact with the world around you. In my world you reward those who are loyal, committed, and do their jobs with integrity. Paul Wulff is one of those people and still should be the WSU Football Coach.
Coach Walden used to print the poem “Man in the Glass” ( Dale Wimbrow (c) 1934. http://www.webtree.ca/inspiration/themanintheglass.html ) in our play books. I can only hope that Cougar Football has not cheated the Man is the Glass.
Gary M Patrick
#63
WSU 1982