Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Who’s waiting in the wings?

Washington State athletic director Bill Moos announced on Tuesday that fifth-year head coach Ken Bone

will not return to coach the Cougars next season, despite two years remaining on his fully-guaranteed contract.

Here is a look at some of the candidates Moos may consider in his search for the next WSU coach.

Ernie Kent

Currently: Not coaching

Previously: Oregon head coach, 13 seasons (235-174)

Kent was the first basketball coach hired by Moos when he was the A.D. at Oregon and he could be Moos’ first at WSU. The two reportedly still have a strong relationship and Kent, now an analyst for the Pac-12 Networks, is rumored to want to get back into coaching. At UO he was known as a strong recruiter, pulling NBA players Luke Ridnour and Aaron Brooks out of Washington. One thing working against the Cougars may be Kent’s age, as the 59-year old may not want to take on an extensive rebuild.

Wayne Tinkle

Currenly: Montana head coach, 8 seasons (158-89)

Though the Grizzlies have had a subpar season and exited in the first round of the Big Sky championship tournament, Montana has generally been successful under Tinkle and made it to the NCAA tournament in the previous two seasons. A Spokane native, the 48-year-old Ferris High School graduate would fit in well in Eastern Washington. However, Ken Bone was a Big Sky coach before coming to WSU, which may cause some skepticism of Tinkle among WSU fans.

Ben Howland

Currently: Not coaching

Previously: UCLA head coach, 10 seasons (230-105); Pittsburgh head coach, 5 seasons (89-40)

Howland is about as big a name as WSU could realistically hope for, having taken UCLA to three consecutive Final Fours in the past decade. Howland’s star faded in the latter half of his tenure with the Bruins as UCLA missed the NCAA tournament twice in his last four years. Still, it may be hard to convince someone who has coached at a school with 11 national championships to come to a school with just six NCAA tournament appearances.

Leon Rice

Currently: Boise State head coach, 4 seasons (77-53)

The 1986 WSU grad has spent his entire coaching career in the Northwest, first as a graduate assistant and then assistant coach at Oregon before becoming as assistant at Gonzaga for 11 seasons and finally as the BSU head coach since 2010. Rice led the Bronco’s to their first NCAA tournament berth last season and his teams have won 20-plus games in three of his four seasons.