- The headline news out of Pullman came Saturday night. WSU AD Pat Chun announced that Jake Dickert will become the new head coach of Cougar football. There are some interesting facets to this gem of a move.
First, I found it rather curious that the first ten stories posted on Dickert's promotion were little more than reprinting the press release written by SID Bill Stevens. Heck, a couple of the stories even included an error that Stevens corrected in a follow-up email. Is it possible this announcement came as such a surprise that no one had a rough draft covering the story?
Why the move less than 24-hours after Dickert led the Cougs to an Apple Cup win? It's hard to believe that there were a number of suitors calling for the services of Dickert. As good as he might be, his pedigree hardly screams, "Pick me! Pick me!", to Power 5 schools looking for a new head coach. Granted, there are plenty of programs in need of new leadership. Perhaps this snappy move is a way of signaling to both Dickert and Cougar Nation that WSU truly believes he's the best man for the job. It also makes hitting the recruiting trails Sunday a bit better for Wazzu coaches. They now have a solid answer when student-athletes and parents pose the question, "Who will be the head coach next season." The move also changes the dynamic on the practice field when the Cougs begin preparations for their bowl game. Players trying to make an impression during workouts are now auditioning for their head coach, not simply collecting video footage of practice to take with them into the transfer portal. It's possible this early move might encourage guys looking for more playing time to contact the football offices in Pullman.
Details of the contract extended to Dickert were not released yesterday, but one item was disclosed. The two parties of agreed in principle to a five-year deal. That's pretty much the going duration for new hires at Power 5 schools these days. Though the salary hasn't been released, you can expect the amount will place Dickert somewhere near the middle of Pac-12 head coach salaries. Chun paid both Mike Leach and Nick Rolovich top-tier salaries to keep them happy in Pullman. In the case of Dickert, Chun made him happy by just offering the deal.
No question one of the key factors in making Dickert the head coach of Cougar football was the leadership displayed by Dickert during his tenure as interim HC. Where his predecessor turned into a public relations nightmare, Dickert has been a calming influence both on and off the field. It could be that reason alone that prompted Chun to pull the trigger. Rolovich's refusal to take the Covid vaccine was the face of WSU for the months leading up to his firing. Within days of Dickert taking the reins, political clashes with the folks in Olympia were no longer associated with Wazzu.
I'd like to think the primary reason Dickert got the job was because of his ability to run a top-notch college football program. His record as interim HC was a modest 3-2. However, on closer inspection, it should be noted that the two losses were to Top 15 caliber teams, BYU and Oregon. Were it not for a missed extra point against BYU, the Cougs might have won that game. And based on locker room video, the guys seem to like playing for this guy.
If you want a sample of what's been written about Wazzu's new head coach so far, here's a link:
https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/Jake-Dickert-officially-named-WSUs-head-football-coach-in-front-of-Cougar-team-176522680/
- Saturday was a tough day for WSU teams. Both men's and women's hoops dropped ball games. The men's team lost to unheralded neighbor Eastern Washington after leading the game by 12 at halftime. That's not a good sign. The women's team lost to #4 NC State by a final of 62-34. No surprise in taking the loss, but the drubbing is not a good sign. And #21 Wazzu volleyball lost to #12 UW in their season finale in Seattle. It was pretty clear the short-handed Cougs were overmatched by the Dawgs.
Go Cougs!!!
- It seems fitting to put together a list of coaches who branch off of the Mike Leach coaching tree. Perspective on his football genius can easily be determined by a cursory glance:
Dave Aranda/Baylor head coach – Graduate assistant coach under Leach from 2000-02 at Texas Tech
Neal Brown/West Virginia head coach – Played under Leach in 1998 when Leach was offensive coordinator at Kentucky
Sonny Cumbie/Louisiana Tech head coach – Played under Leach at Texas Tech from 2000-03 and later served as a graduate assistant coach under Leach
Sonny Dykes/TCU head coach – Coached wide receivers and later was the co-offensive coordinator at Texas Tech under Leach from 2000-06
Josh Heupel/Tennessee head coach – Played under Leach at Oklahoma in 1999 when Leach was the offensive coordinator for the Sooners
Dana Holgorsen/Houston head coach – Coached alongside Leach as assistants at Valdosta State from 1993-95, then served as a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator under Leach from ...
- The news of former WSU Coach Mike Leach passing at the young age of 61 is very, very sad. I had the pleasure of writing about the Cougs when Leach was at the helm. To say that he was a unique person doesn't begin to describe the multi-faceted dimension of the man.
In terms of coaching football, Leach led his teams in a way that had most other coaches scratching their heads. His offensive creativity gave a multitude of defensive coordinators ulcers. To say that his techniques for molding student-athletes into football players were unusual would be accurate. Making guys run sprints in a sand pit named "Leach Beach" is a prime example. Crazy as that sounds, his players had fewer ankle injuries over the course of the season than any team in football. Only Mike Leach could get players to hit the beach. And if you look at the coaching tree that branches out from Leach, you'd find a myriad of men who owe him for their start in the profession.
When you examine the way Leach represented the schools ...
- Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so Wazzu's loss yesterday to UNLV by a score of 74-70 was just that, a loss. However, there were plenty of reasons to applaud both the performance and the progress the Cougs are making over the past few games. Let's get the bad observation out of the way. WSU turned the ball over a ridiculous 22 times. No one is going to beat many teams with such wreckless play, especially against a team that posted a 9-0 record going into the contest. Some of those errors might be attributed to Coach Kyle Smith going with a different lineup almost every game because of player injuries. Facts are facts and when there isn't a steady lineup, players struggle to play team ball. On the bright side, Wazzu shot a respectable 54.2% from the field, coupled with a very nice 56.5% from behind the arc. On defense, WSU held UNLV to just 30.4% from behind the arc and 50.9% overall. The Cougs outrebounded the Rebels by a margin of 33-20. Despite being down by ...
