Before Mike Leach left for Starkville, the number one coaching staff question on my mind heading into the offseason was “what is the plan on defense?” The Washington State Cougars had experienced a defensive renaissance of sorts under Alex Grinch that Tracy Claeys improved upon in his first season. After three seasons of top 60 scoring defenses, the Cougs took a big step back to 93rd in 2019. Once the high of Nick Rolovich getting hired had worn off, I felt my mind returning to the worry about the defense.
I was hopeful that getting a head coach from the Group of 5 would mean a much larger pool of money for assistants and hopefully a Power 5 name that was somewhat recognizable.