The Pirate has left the Palouse.
Mike Leach is departing Washington State after eight mostly successful seasons leading the Cougars. Leach is taking his prolific passing offense and unique personality to Mississippi State, his third Power 5 coaching stop. He went 55-47 at WSU, including a historic 11-win season and AP Top 10 finish in 2018, a 37-win stretch between 2015 and 2018 and six bowl appearances, including five straight to finish his tenure.
The Leach era undoubtedly will go down as one of the best in WSU history. Athletic director Pat Chun now must figure out who replaces Leach at one of the most remote and challenging Power 5 jobs. The timing of Leach's departure is less than ideal.
Other than Leach and Mike Price, Washington State's coaches have struggled to gain traction. Offense seems to be the path to success in Pullman, and could shape Chun's search, but there's also a very strong choice on the defensive side. The candidate pool features several men with head-coaching experience, as well as some top coordinators.
Here's a look at who could succeed Leach at Wazzu.
Candidates
Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch: Although Grinch's background is on defense, he knows Washington State well from his time there as defensive coordinator (2015 to 2017). The Cougars defense dramatically improved under his watch, and in 2017 Grinch was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award (nation's top assistant coach). He knows how to coach defense opposite an Air Raid-style offense (Washington State, Oklahoma), and has strong coaching roots as the nephew of former Missouri coach Gary Pinkel. Grinch would need to outline a strong plan on offense but could be a great choice here.
Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich: He's a young Mike Leach, and it helps he's close with the man he would be replacing at Washington State. Rolovich, 40, is an extremely entertaining personality who has shown he can win at a program lacking the resources of its competitors. He guided Hawaii to a division title and 10 wins this past season, including victories against two Pac-12 opponents. After two coordinator stints and 18 wins the past two seasons at Hawaii, Rolovich is ready to move up and WSU is a perfect fit.
Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain: After a Florida tenure that was more weird than bad, McElwain showed this past season that he hasn't forgotten how to coach. CMU went from one win in 2018 to a division title and eight wins. McElwain, 57, is a Montana native who played at Eastern Washington and remains very connected to the region. He has captured Coach of the Year honors in three leagues (SEC, Mountain West, MAC). Few Power 5 jobs would fit him better at this stage of his career than Washington State.
USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell: Few candidates are better equipped to maintain what Leach accomplished in Pullman. Harrell, 34, was a record-setting quarterback under Leach at Texas Tech and landed his first on-field assistant coaching job with Leach at Washington State in 2014 (outside receivers). He's an extremely fast riser whose success at USC last fall resulted in a new three-year, $3.6 million contract. Harrell will be a head coach soon and Washington State could land him before others.
Boise State coach Bryan Harsin: This seems like a long shot because of the jobs Harsin has turned down, but Chun absolutely should gauge the coach's interest. Harsin, 43, has an exceptional record at his alma mater (64-17) but doesn't get much national attention. Perhaps he's eager to finally coach a Power 5 program, and Washington State allows him to remain in the region. Harsin has led Boise State to three league titles, five division titles and five 10-win seasons.
Nevada coach Jay Norvell: After an extended wait for his first head-coaching chance, Norvell has capitalized, leading Nevada to consecutive bowl appearances. The 56-year-old has been an assistant at two Pac-12 schools (Arizona State, UCLA), in addition to stops at Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wisconsin and the Oakland Raiders. Norvell has a strong background on offense and already recruits many of the areas (California, Texas) the Cougars need to target.
Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore: He opted to stay with the Cowboys rather than join the University of Washington as offensive coordinator. But could a head-coaching opportunity pry him away from Dallas? Moore, 31, has quickly established himself as one of the sport's top young offensive minds. He grew up in Prosser, Washington, about 160 miles from Pullman. Although he has a similar profile to Harrell, his NFL experience could make him an intriguing option for Washington State.
Jim Mora: The former UCLA coach wants to get back on the sideline and has familiarity with both the league and the state. Mora, 58, played at Washington and coached the Seattle Seahawks in 2009 after two years as a Seahawks assistant. His background is on defense and he spent most of his time in the NFL, so this would be a different approach for Chun and WSU.
Recommendation
Alex Grinch or Nick Rolovich: I'm torn as I really like Washington State's options, even at this late date. Both Grinch and Rolovich are excellent choices, as Grinch knows how you need to win at Washington State, and Rolovich already has won at a have-not program and reminds me so much of Leach. If pushed, I would choose Grinch because of his background and connection to WSU, but Chun can't go wrong with either choice.