On Tuesday, WSU football unofficially became a real player in the Pac-12 Conference.
And this University of Washington alum is worried. The thought that WSU could land someone as charismatic, innovative and proven as Mike Leach is something I never could have believed possible. In the past, the Cougars seemed to hire one of their own or reach for a carpetbagger.
Several factors made it happen, though, including Leach's controversial dismissal at Texas Tech, the four years of janitorial work dutifully done by the fired Paul Wulff, and — of course — an $11.25 million contract.
It’s important to note that WSU athletic director Bill Moos became emboldened by the conference's new TV deal, which is expected to deliver $20 million each year to each member school.
At Texas Tech, Leach's program and Bobby Knight lording over men's basketball brought national attention to Lubbock. And there have been a number of schools interested in Leach over the years. There's debate as whether Leach would have been a fit among supporters at Montlake following the Tyrone Willingham experiment, prompted by the rise and fall of Rick Neuheisel.
But Leach's eclectic approach — Spokesman-Review columnist John Blanchette used "Margaritaville" to help describe it — will be embraced by the Wazzu faithful. (Hmm, would Lane Rawlins have signed off on Leach if he were still running the show in Pullman?)
And looking back on the Adam James practice field incident that sparked Leach’s departure, Moos admitted, “There's part of me that's glad it happened. I'm not sure we (otherwise) could have gotten Mike Leach from Texas Tech."
Indeed, this is quite different than when Jim Sterk lured Wisconsin coaching legend Dick Bennett out of retirement to breathe life into WSU men's basketball. The key was Tony Bennett taking over, an ipso facto that in some ways worked out too well.
No, the Cougars might actually be able to hang onto Leach for a while. He will make WSU football relevant again; his offense is made for TV and will attract recruits to Pullman.
In the meantime, every Husky must worry about what the already potent Cougar offense and this mad scientist will do to Nick Holt’s defense during the 2012 Apple Cup.
Perhaps my WSU wife will buy me a copy of Swing Your Sword for Christmas. Traci, you will be pleased to know that fewer Husky football supporters will be as smug with Leach living in Cougarslavia.
