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November 30, 2011 in Sports
It’s official: WSU hires Leach as football coach
Will be introduced at press conference on Tuesday
New Washington State coaching candidate Mike Leach went 84-43 at Texas Tech, with nine bowl appearances in 10 years.
(Full-size photo)
PULLMAN – Nov. 16 was one of the most important dates in Washington State’s more than 100-year football history, and only two men knew it.
That was the day WSU athletic director Bill Moos flew from the 37-degrees in Pullman to Key West, Fla., where he met with former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach.
Over the next few hours on a beautiful low-80s day, Moos and Leach developed the foundation that led to Wednesday announcement that the 50-year-old Leach would take the reins of WSU’s football program. Leach will be formally introduced at a press conference on Tuesday.
“I prefaced my visit with (Leach) with ‘I’m hoping my football coach finishes strong and, in that event we’re going to go forward the way we are,’ but I’ve got to be prepared in the event we don’t have the success I feel we need to have,” Moos said Wednesday, referring to Paul Wulff, that day preparing the Cougars for their game with Utah.
But that strong finish didn’t materialize – WSU lost to Utah in overtime and Washington the next week – and Moos fired Wulff on Tuesday.
By then he got a basic agreement in place with Leach.
“The job wasn’t open officially until (Tuesday), but we had a lot of it laid out prior to that,” said Moos, explaining that Leach’s agent and a representative of his had been hammering out details since the Utah defeat. “I did not officially offer him the job until after the Apple Cup.”
That agreement, which Leach agreed to in principle, calls for a compensation package of $2.25 million and incentives per year for five years, with a three-year rollover triggered each year by Moos. If Leach wants to leave for another job, the buyout starts at $2 million but falls $400,000 each year.
There is another $1.8 million earmarked for his assistants.
“I put those figures out there to him and there was never any bargaining,” Moos said. “He said, ‘Hey, that’s great.’”
It is the richest contract in Washington State’s athletic history.
“This school has never hired a BCS coach,” Moos said of the cost. “This just isn’t a BCS coach. This is a coach that in 10 years went to 10 bowl games.
“We’ve got a coach that, I believe, his peers in this conference are going to take notice. and we are on our way, in my opinion, to a great future with Cougar football.”
According to numbers in USA Today earlier this month, at least three Pac-12 coaches make $2.25 million or more, though those figures don’t include USC, a private institution. Arizona recently signed former West Virginia and Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez to a five-year, $9.55 million contract. There are also openings at Arizona State and UCLA which may end up paying more than WSU.
Wulff was paid $600,000 plus incentives. His assistants made $1.3 million combined this season.
“With this deal he will be in the top five or six,” in the conference, Moos said.
Asked how he was able to entice Leach, whose Texas Tech teams won 84 games in 10 years and went to a bowl game at the end of each (WSU hasn’t been in a bowl since 2003), Moos harkened back to that day in Key West.
“In our conversation, he had great interest, and it was genuine, I could tell,” Moos said. “We really connected. Here’s a guy from Cody, Wyo., and a farm kid from Edwall, and were talking about snowdrifts.
“A lot of schools wanted him, but he wanted Washington State.”
In Leach, Washington State has attracted one of the hottest commodities in the nation – on the field. But the way his tenure at Texas Tech ended made him somewhat of a pariah.
In late December 2009, Tech suspended Leach after Adam James, son of ESPN commentator Craig James, alleged he had been isolated in an equipment room when he couldn’t practice due to a concussion.
The incident, added atop Leach’s acrimonious contract negotiations with the school, eventually led to his dismissal. Within weeks Leach, a 1986 graduate of Pepperdine Law School, had sued the school for wrongful termination.
Before the year was out he sued ESPN and a public relations firm for libel and slander. Both suits are still in litigation.
On the field Leach developed his reputation as an offensive innovator at Valdosta State and Kentucky, before moving on to Oklahoma as offensive coordinator under Bob Stoops. Former Arizona head coach Mike Stoops was the defensive coordinator when Leach was at Oklahoma.
Named Texas Tech head coach in 2000, his Red Raider teams won seven games the first two seasons, then never less than eight until he was let go in 2009. They played in bowl games each of those 10 years, though Leach did not coach in the 2009 Alamo Bowl.
When he was let go, Leach was making a reported $2.5 million per year.
Leach’s Tech teams led the nation in passing six times and only in his first year finished out of the top five.
“I’m not going to hire somebody whose going to run the Houston veer,” Moos said Tuesday. “I do believe you do fill the seats by having a flashy, high-octane offense that lights up the scoreboard.
“And then you come back and win the championships with defense.”
The Red Raiders finished in the top 10 in scoring seven times while Leach was head coach.
Leach was born in Susanville, Calif., in 1961, though he grew up in Cody, Wyo. He attended Brigham Young when LaVell Edwards was the coach, though he didn’t play football.
His first assistant coaching job was at Cal Poly before spending a year at the College of the Desert, a junior college in Palm Desert, Calif., with much of the rest of career spent in the South and Southwest.
It has been a whirlwind week for the Cougars, who completed a 4-8 season Saturday with a 38-21 Apple Cup defeat to Washington. Within the next 48 hours, Moos says he pondered Wulff’s future before ending his four-year tenure at WSU on Tuesday morning.
Instead he was sealing the deal with Leach.
“I always have to have another plan,” Moos said of meeting with Leach while Wulff was still the coach. “I felt if we had a chance to get Mike Leach, I had to set the foundation before that before the season was over. To tell you the truth, he was the only guy I talked to and the only guy I wanted.”
Wulff, who played at Washington State in the late 1980s, was 9-40 in his four years at his alma mater.
Two of his assistants, offensive line coach Steve Morton and linebackers coach Chris Tormey, along with Shawn Deeds, director of football operations, will stay in their positions for the time being to coordinate recruiting and overseeing the program.
All of the assistants’ contracts expire March 31, 2012.
Kamiak boys capture State 4A boys golf 
Upthewazzu on November 30 at 4:11 p.m.
My mind has officially been blown. This is the single best thing to ever happen to WSU football.
Fractal on November 30 at 4:12 p.m.
Excellent news! Go Cougs! Hats off to Elson Floyd and Bill Moos for demanding, and attaining, not only a competent candidate but an outstanding one. As Cougs, we’re lucky to have those guys, and we’re definitely lucky to have Coach Leach.
The_Seer on November 30 at 4:19 p.m.
Looks like a good time to open an all you can eat buffet in Pullman.
Al_Loysius on November 30 at 4:21 p.m.
Obejectively speaking, one has to admit it is a risky hire. If he does something crazy, both Elson Floyd and Bill Moos may be looking for a new job.
I know there is a lot of euphoria over this, but has anybody asked themselves why nobody has hired him for 2 years?
I would invite an answer as to why he did not get any of the 50+ openings in the last couple of years. And don’t tell me he was just waiting for the Wazzu job to open up.
westerly on November 30 at 4:26 p.m.
Watch out…Sark.
The_Seer on November 30 at 4:29 p.m.
Why was Leach forced to leave Texas Tech?
I love how coaches can just go away for a year or two and all is forgiven. Mike Price and Bama anyone?
10 million for a college football coach and hundreds of millions to renovate two football stadiums that get used six times a year at most. And all this time I swallowed the meme that “we are broke.”
AZcheese on November 30 at 4:31 p.m.
This sucks,
Sun Devil fan
crowhop85 on November 30 at 4:34 p.m.
Moos wanted to make a splash and he did. I caught the announcement on a national news break and see that its being reported on msnbc.com. Leach has two very good QBs and batch of good receivers to build with. The man’s credentials are there and I always thought that Craig James ran a smear campaign against him. I was sorry to see PW go, but it was clear he was in over his head. Moos continues to establish himself as a guy that doesn’t f…mess around. No predictions other than I’m guessing I’ll attend a Coug game for the first time in five years.
Go Cougs!!
NationalChamps on November 30 at 4:36 p.m.
Welcome to the Inland Northwest Coach Leach.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2012
EWU 34
WSU 23
GoingLong on November 30 at 4:54 p.m.
Bar the doors, Katie! Pac-12 football is taking off at warp speed with Rich Rod at Arizona and now Mike Leach at Wazzu. Let’s bring in Sumlin to UCLA and Petersen to UCLA? Can hardly wait for a Leach-Kelly matchup…do scoreboards read triple digits? GO COUGS!
93bird on November 30 at 4:56 p.m.
Nice one Champs! The little red engine from Cheney will show everyone how to crash a party. Even with 20 more scholarships, Leach still won’t have enough to stop the Eagles from beating him at his home opener. Coach Baldwin will do it on a salary 20x less too. Ooooh, it’s going to fun to watch Fans Undefeated go 0-2 to start the season.
crowhop85 on November 30 at 5:17 p.m.
“I’m not going to hire somebody whose going to run the Houston veer,” Moos said Tuesday. “I do believe you do fill the seats by having a flashy, high-octane offense that lights up the scoreboard.
“And then you come back and win the championships with defense.”
Sumlin dig?
trebor462 on November 30 at 5:28 p.m.
They had better hope there’s no little boy or girl skeletons in his closet.
lowtechmaster on November 30 at 5:33 p.m.
Why should a coach earn that much per year compared to a faculty member, or, often, a college President?? And how have colleges and universities become athletic factories rather than institutions of higher education?? And why aren’t all Division I athletic programs taxed for ALL of their income?? How much $$ could such a tax provide for non-athletes trying to get an education, as tuition and fees rise dramatically?? Also, check the new NCAA “rules” about how much more $$$ athletes, but not non-athletes can collect per year!!
LinkmanTX on November 30 at 5:38 p.m.
To answer why Leach was forced out at TT, it had to do with money that administration didn’t want to pay him after they had signed a contract. There were e-mails saying (to paraphrase), “if he’s fired before (this date), we don’t have to pay him”. Plus, there was the issue with Craig James’ son, which supposedly gave the administration just cause to fire him. I’m sure it’s all on wikipedia, but that’s the short of it. There is still wrongful termination litigation going on, but I think you have a great coach. I’m not a TT fan, but have watched Leach’s teams over the years. His offense is exciting to watch and resembles a track meet. Your QBs and receivers will love it. Leach wins, takes teams to bowls, graduates students and is usually good for one major upset (how does beating Oregon sound?) every year. That is his track record in the Big 12, where he competed against UT, OU, A&M, OSU and Nebraska, both on the field and in recruiting. Look up his teams’ stats. The offensive numbers are amazing. Plus, he made Lubbock one of the most difficult places to play in for opponents. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls a few kids from Texas up to WSU to play for him. Everyone liked and respected him here in TX other than a few people in the TT front office. Not everyone “gets” his personality right away, but give him some time and you will get it, along with results. Good luck!
LinkmanTX on November 30 at 5:44 p.m.
To Al-Loysius above: watching the situation somewhat closely, I believe Leach wasn’t immediately hired because of the situation he left in Lubbock. There was litigation being filed and his head may not have been able to be 100% into his job. The litigation is still pending, but I think enough time has passed that universities are comfortable with him coming in and dedicating himself to coaching.
All of the details are available out there on the web. Search for it, read it and judge for yourself. Personally, if it was my school, I’d be thrilled to have him.
LinkmanTX on November 30 at 5:51 p.m.
From a Texas perspective, read the comments on the following:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/texas-tech-red-raiders/20111130-former-texas-tech-coach-mike-leach-will-coach-at-washington-state.ece
LinkmanTX on November 30 at 6:06 p.m.
If you want to look at his results:
http://www.texastech.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/text-m-footbl-archive.html
In a snapshot, Texas Tech Passing Yards in:
2009 - 5,028
2008 - 5,077
2007 - 5,707
2010 (after Leach) - 4,146
Get your popcorn ready!
DHF on November 30 at 6:19 p.m.
I dont watch football but this looks like getting rid of a no win coach and replacing him with a win coach who was fired at Texas whatever. If he was so good then why was he fired. It’s all about winning and has nothing to do with character. Why do we want to pay all these misfits all this money. Is it all about winning that is so important.
LinkmanTX on November 30 at 6:25 p.m.
You can read all about Mike Leach here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Leach_%28coach%29
liberal_in_right_wing_land on November 30 at 6:32 p.m.
Seriously, you sad little EWU fans really think that team has a chance to beat WSU next year? Please, try to learn a little about college football before making yourself like stupid. Go see what WSU has returning, go see what Mike Leach has done in the past and how he is a perfect fit for all the returning players at WSU.
Your pathetic little team that struggled with probably the best FCS QB this year will be lucky to finish within 40 points of WSU next year. Mike Leach has been out of coaching for two years and you don’t think he doesn’t have a small chip on his shoulder and wants to make a statement with a talented QB and a NFL caliber WR to throw to next season? I seriously hope he nows runs up the score on your pathetic little team now.
NationalChamps and 93birch I sure hope you are still around and posting on September 8, 2012 after the game.
jdodgion on November 30 at 6:43 p.m.
Yea Ohio State !!!
jdodgion on November 30 at 6:45 p.m.
Good deal, WSU and Mike Leach are together.
LinkmanTX on November 30 at 6:57 p.m.
Sorry for all of the unsolicited info, but here’s some more:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/stewart_mandel/11/30/mike.leach.washington.state/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a8&eref=sihp
Loudin on November 30 at 7:01 p.m.
Why were so many of the comments here critical of “The Seer” ‘s multiple posts deleted?
Little city thinking, little city newspaper. Get a spine…
Loudin
The_Seer on November 30 at 7:47 p.m.
Fill me in, Loudin. I guess I missed the delete party. I don’t think there is anything “little city” about calling out sports as the opiate of the masses.
Link: I was being facetious when I asked why Leach was fired from Texas Tech. I know, and I also know why dozens of schools passed on him since he was fired. Most employers are shy to hire those who are currently in litigation with their former place of work.
I don’t think Bone was a Moos hire either, right? Is Kevin Sampson on his way back to the Palouse?
Loudin on November 30 at 8:03 p.m.
No Seer,
I and a few others called you out for your ignorance about how Leach’s salary is paid (you were sort of playing the “Gub’ment takin’ my tax dollars for footbawl coaches” card). Remember? Here’s your quote:
“10 million for a college football coach and hundreds of millions to renovate two football stadiums that get used six times a year at most. And all this time I swallowed the meme that “we are broke.”
Unfortunately, you and facts are apparently enemies…you conveniently refuse to admit you were wrong (Leach’s salary is paid for by the FOX-PAC12 deal); the stadium and facility upgrades are not being funded by the state either.
Yet somehow, our comments disappeared. You have to be pretty insecure, Seer, to flag people who disagree w/you…not to mention ignorant for not spending a few minutes Googling “Leach WSU Compensation” or similar.
Little city, little paper, little person (Seer); now flag me, Cupcake.
Loudin
oneanddone on November 30 at 8:46 p.m.
In any event, even at $600K/yr to run a college football program, it’s an absurd amount of money better spent by Fox on all their blond lawyer titter heads. I’ve got a feeling that MANY sport fanatics see no problem with such ludicrous salaries for NCAA coaches but rail their eyeballs to ruin whining about CEO compensation. Unless you’re saving the planet $2M/year is beyond all understanding.
maddog on November 30 at 9:09 p.m.
@LinkmanTX…nice comments link…let us WSU Faithful hope!
liberal_in_right_wing_land on November 30 at 9:20 p.m.
oneanddone, I am a sports fanatic and I think coaching salaries are totally ridiculous and out of hand. I understand why WSU did this though, they have to pay money to stay relevant or they will just become an after thought.
I am also against CEO salaries, and like in coaching I understand why companies do it for the most part, they feel if they don’t they will become irrelevant and fail.
Do I feel a law should be passed to keep CEO salaries lower, yes. Would I be for a law that limits athletes and coaches salaries, yes I would also. I don’t think people who play and coach a game should make millions of dollars while teachers barely are able to support themselves, firefighters and policeman live paycheck to paycheck, and nurses fight everyday to survive. But, thanks to republicans, we don’t have laws like that so we will continue to see people playing games (CEO’s included) making more than people saving lives or trying to teach our children.
Reality4u on November 30 at 9:42 p.m.
Most $ ever to a washed up coach, stadium remodel and tuition hikes. Good luck
zelda on November 30 at 10:08 p.m.
Did anyone catch the CBS News report about gang affiliations staying with high school athletes recruited to universities? It’s titled “Gang Life bleeding Into College Sports.” http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7390108n&tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.0
Leach is interviewed briefly in the piece, which was done in a joint investigation with Sports Illustrated. I don’t know if Leach is good or bad for the game or WSU, but he says he had to deal with players recruited out of Compton, CA high schools that were problems at Texas Tech because they continued to be members of gangs. The CBS segment also spotlights a UW player who is going to stand trial for murder. You’d think with all the studying and cramming for tests, they wouldn’t have time for gang activities (har-har).
mdriftmeyer on November 30 at 11:32 p.m.
@zelda: 1984 called. Gangs out of Compton go back even farther than that in College Football, but came to public awareness in the ‘90s.
mdriftmeyer on November 30 at 11:36 p.m.
@liberal_in_right_wing_land: regarding salaries I agree. Their salaries far surpass their merits. All the GOP neo-cons talk about living within our means as if they’ve produced a candidate since Eisenhower who did but none of them want salaries within reason.
Sir Thomas Paine’s view of America, along-side Franklin, Jefferson, Madison and most of the Founding Fathers as that of a Meritocracy needs to come back.
I’ll be glad to pay top dollar for those who invent 60% efficiency solar panel cells or triple engine efficiencies from the theoretical Carnot Cycle while using biomass fuels, electricity or hydrogen but I find paying someone to shoot a ball, hit a ball, throw a ball, catch a ball, or anything else with a ball in a team sport to be obscenely overpaid.
notthefacts on December 01 at 2:00 a.m.
You know who the happiest guy in Pullman is?? Ken Bone!!! No one gives a hoot right now how horrible his team is playing. He will be able to fly under the radar until league play hits!!!
jerbear2011 on December 01 at 9:02 a.m.
I agree with liberal_in_right_hand’s comment. EWU shouldn’t be sure that they are going to beat WSU, but remember what happened in September? EWU almost shocked the state of Washington, almost beating our rivals over in Seattle on their home football field. Who knows? Anything can happen and I think Leach would be a great addition to WSU.
The_Seer on December 01 at 12:43 p.m.
loudin: I never flag any posts. You’ve got the wrong person. To say that taxpayers aren’t paying for the coach and stadium upgrades is disingenuous. Sure, Fox scratched a check for T.V. rights to Pac 12 football games, but that doesn’t mean the money HAS TO BE SPENT FOR FOOTBALL! Income from that contract could be used to defer expenses in other departments of the university, thus saving the taxpayer money. I could get a million posts scrubbed and you would never arrive at that conclusion because of what I can only gather were too many head butts from The Schute.
The_Seer on December 01 at 12:58 p.m.
The table showing Leach’s peformance while at Texas Tech leaves out one crucial aspect: His conference record. He only had winning season in the conference half of the time he was there. In addition, the Big 12 only plays eight conference games so teams can pad their schedule with four non-conference tilts unlike Pac 12 teams that play nine conference games and only can schedule three non-conference games. That makes a huge difference between being bowl eligible and not. In addition, his record in bowl games is .500 and not one of those bowl games was a BCS bowl against top tier talent but lesser bowls against lesser teams. The Pac 12 is overall a tougher conference than the Big 12 in football from year to year, especially prior to expansion to twelve teams. I don’t see him taking WSU to a bowl game every year like he did with Tech. His schedule will be more difficult, his conference is tougher and no coach who has ever been to Pullman have been able to achieve the way Leach did while at Tech. Besides, he’ll win with Wulff’s players and be gone within three years.
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on December 01 at 6:09 p.m.
Leach sounds like a fat little peach of a guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6brYtuPX-Q
(Hilarious, or rude? Probably a little bit of both)