There’s an old trope that goes something along the lines of, “Your best salesperson doesn’t always become a good CEO.” I had that in mind yesterday when it was reported that Kirby Moore would become the next head football coach at Washington State. Moore has 12 years of coaching experience but this will be his […]
There’s an old trope that goes something along the lines of, “Your best salesperson doesn’t always become a good CEO.”
I had that in mind yesterday when it was reported that Kirby Moore would become the next head football coach at Washington State. Moore has 12 years of coaching experience but this will be his first time leading a program. He’s a successful offensive minded coach with high marks in the SEC (and at Fresno State, where he was the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator in the 2022 L.A. Bowl against WSU).
That is a great resume for someone who is just 35 years old. Fantastic, even. But will it translate to success as a head coach?
I sure hope so. WSU has hired two coordinators to be head coaches since Jim Walden left for Iowa State in 1987—Bill Doba and Jake Dickert. Both situations were unique and had mixed results, to say the least. But other than those two, all of their hires had head coaching experience.
Kirby Moore’s resume says one thing, but his next moves will tell us more. Who will he hire to fill out his staff? How will he recruit the current roster and how will he use the transfer portal? What about the players who signed Letters of Intent 10 days ago?
And the question on lots of fans’ minds, for better or worse: How long will Moore stay in Pullman?
It’s a silly question, if you ask me. If Moore moves on to a better gig in 3-5 years, that only means he did great things at WSU. We should want that. Loyalty doesn’t exist in college football anymore, even if your 35-year-old head coach grew up 170 miles from campus.
Moore will be introduced on Tuesday, and the first reporter to ask him about loyalty or about how long he plans to stay should be interrupted by Moore himself to say, “I’ll be here until I’m not. Next question.”
Because that’s not what matters. What matters is the moves Moore makes after Tuesday. For our sake, let’s hope he becomes the CEO that Cougar football needs.
Category: General Sports
