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December 14, 2022
Wazzu News and Notes - December 14, 2022
- 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 2000-07 at Texas Tech
Kliff Kingsbury/Arizona Cardinals and former Texas Tech head coach – Played quarterback for Leach at Texas Tech from 2000-02
Seth Littrell/ newly fired North Texas head coach – Played quarterback under Leach at Oklahoma in 1999 when Leach was offensive coordinator for the Sooners, then served as Leach's running backs coach at Texas Tech from 2005-08
Lincoln Riley/ USC head coach – Played for Leach in 2002 at Texas Tech, then joined Leach's Red Raider staff from 2003-09, first as a student assistant before working his way up to being a wide receivers coach
Ken Wilson/ Nevada head coach – Linebackers coach under Leach at WSU from 2013-19
One thing common to everyone on this coaching tree list is that they are all enjoying successful coaching careers. Granted, only one, Kliff Kingsbury, has made it to the NFL. Frankly, the Air Raid offense employed by Leach probably will never be a match to the level of athletic talent in the NFL. Great speed on defense will neutralize the Air Raid. Even the worst teams in the NFL still have excellent speed on their defensive roster. All in all, that list is quite impressive and a nice way to remember The Pirate. - Wazzu offensive coordinator Eric Morris was reportedly gone a few days ago, landing the head coaching job at Texas State. Well, those reports proved to be wrong. This time reports of Eric Morris leaving Pullman to take over the head coaching job at North Texas seem to be grounded in fact. So the loathing diatribes launched at Morris recently should be reloaded and fired! Morris is gone.
With the departure of Morris, a few issues should raise concerns. Who will serve that role in the LA Bowl? Heck, after a mass exodus of both players and coaches, should Wazzu even attempt to play Fresno State? And with the early signing of student-athletes deadline right around the corner, December 21st, how will these coaching changes affect interest in Pullman? How many guys on the current roster will become fed up with the drama and uncertainty for the future of Cougar football will simply throw up their hands and say "enough!"
"Huskies Offer WSU QB Commit After Cougars OC Leaves for North Texas" - Sports Illustrated
It's exhausting to even consider how much pressure these changes have put on Coach Jake Dickert. It's likely Dickert already has a short list of guys to replace Morris given that he had one foot out the door recently. The sooner he can make a decision, get a commitment and have a candidate pass the university background check, the better.
One other thought with regard to the departure of Morris. Will Cam Ward move on to North Texas with the coach responsible for bringing him to WSU? A key component to Ward choosing to move on would be the NIL offer extended by another school. Then again, that's always going to be the case until the NCAA begins regulating NIL money that presently is destroying the college football landscape.
https://www.cougcenter.com/2022/12/14/23508532/eric-morris-north-texas-head-coach-washington-state-cougars-wsu-offensive-coordinator
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Wazzu News and Notes - December 13, 2022
- 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 ...
Wazzu News and Notes - December 11, 2022
- 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 ...
Wazzu News and Notes - December 9, 2022
- Both Wazzu men's and women's hoops notched victories this past Wednesday. The men turned in a very nice performance against Northern Kentucky at home in Beasley Coliseum by a final of 68-47. The Cougs got off to a good start and never looked back against the Norse. However, it must be pointed out that Northern Kentucky is a powerhouse program within the Horizon League. There's little argument to be made that the Horizon League is comparable to the Pac-12. But a win is a win and WSU looked good in the process despite missing the services of Jabe Mullins for a second straight game due to injury. As for the women, well, they got off to a terrible start against Portland. Early on the Cougs trailed by 27-8 to the Pilots, a team that has dominated Wazzu over the years. For the record, Wazzu has never come back from a 19-point deficit to win a ball game. Erase that record as WSU fought their way back to earn a 69-63 victory. In the end, a balanced scoring attack brought Wazzu all the way back ...
