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Mike Leach had two vacancies on his coaching staff and while he filled one quickly with the hiring of David Yost, it took a bit longer to fill the void at linebacker coach. WSU appears set to do just that by hiring Nevada linebacker coach and assistant head coach Ken Wilson, according to a report from Football Scoop.
Wilson comes to WSU after spending 13 seasons as an assistant coach with the Wolf Pack. He's spent the last four seasons coaching inside linebackers. He had a stint as the defensive coordinator and has been a assistant head coach for the last three seasons. While he doesn't have any direct coaching history with Leach, Wilson and current WSU running backs coach Jim Mastro have a long history, having coached 11 seasons together.
Wilson will replace Jeff Choate who left WSU after one season to become the defensive coordinator at UTEP. While Choate was well-regarded for the work he did with the inside linebackers last year, Wilson appears to be a very strong hire. He is experienced and has coached a number of players who earned all-conference honors. Wilson became available after Chris Ault decided to retire following the season.
In addition to Wilson, the report from Football Scoop says WSU will also hire Mike Bethea as a graduate assistant. Bethea is a former linebacker for the Wolf Pack who played under Wilson. He spent two seasons as a GA with Nevada. Both Wilson and Bethea have experience recruiting California.