Leach Considered For Tennessee Vacancy

It looked like a nearly done deal.  WSU Coach Mike Leach would leave Pullman to become the coach at Tennessee.  That may have fallen through as Tennessee's athletic director Bill Currie has reportedly been fired. We Cougs can breath a sigh of relief, at least for now, however, after Bill Moos left as Cougar AD to take the Nebraska job, Leach appears to be getting restless.  Meanwhile, at my wife's alma matter, Tennessee, things are really up in the air as the school needs to hire both a new AD and a coach, early reports have said that Phil Fulmer,  the former football coach, who won a championship at the school, will take the job.   Tennessee had hired a coach until a social media outcry forced them to abandon the choice. 

Cougs Best Regular Season In Years, Ends In Downer

Cougar Coach Mike Leach doesn't show high regard for reporters, opponents, or his staff and for that matter, himself in this diatribe after our 45-10 defeat in the Apple Cup.  Hostility developed between Leach and reporters for his not speaking to questions about the health of the starting quarterback Luke Falk.
 Falk was carted off the field in the Cougars victory over Colorado, it was not known until game time that back up quarterback Peyton Bender would play.

Cougs Win Apple Cup

WSU quarterback Jeff Tuell passed for 350 yards as the Cougars overcame an 18 point deficit to stun the bowl bound Washington Huskies 31-28.  The Cougars, in the midst of a nightmare season seemed to be on the way to a 9th straight loss, when they scored 18 straight points to send the game into overtime.  Andrew Furney hit a 27 yard field goal to end the game.
Because of the tradition of the Apple Cup pitting the state's two largest universities, the Cougars end the season on a somewhat happy note in spite of a 3-9 record.  This season, the first under coach Mike Leach, who turned into a polarizing figure with some of his methods of handling players.

WSU Football Controversy

When WSU hired Mike Leach as head football coach last year, the school  was hoping to put the program on the national "map".  It now is, but definitely, not the way it wants to be.  Premier wide receiver Marquess Wilson has left the team and shocked the sports world with accusations of "physical, emotional, and verbal abuse".  Reporters were already aware of how Leach handled a loss to Utah, marching selected players into a news conference to explain what he perceived as a lack of effort.  Cougar fans are questioning whether there is a method to the coach's madness or it it just madness.  WSU President Floyd has announced an investigation into Wilson's charges.  WSU football fans have seen their share of unusual coaches, but none as polarizing as Coach Leach.  Time will tell if he is the right player to turn the program around.

Mike Leach Named New Cougar Coach

Former Texas Tech  coach Mike Leach  will now run the football program at Washington State University.  Leach will replace Paul Wulff, who was fired this week after the Cougs lost to Washington in the Apple Cup to top off a disappointing 4 and 8 season.   It was the best season of Wulff's tenure, and the team had shown improvement, however, with new television revenue available, Athletic Director Bill Moos felt that big changes were needed to bring the Cougars to a level to where they could compete and win nationally.
Leach  was 84-43 at Texas Tech, with 10 bowl appearances.  Cougar fans are hoping that Leach can do for Washington State, what Mike Holmgren did for the Seattle Seahawks.  Holmgren got the NFL 'Hawks into the Super Bowl in the 2005-2006 season.